Enemy of My Enemy 2: Crossroads
by dragonbreath88
Summary: He came to the island to hide from his past, and to forge a new future. Unfortunately, his past came back and Eric Everton finds himself at a crossroad: does he continue to fight the eternal fight or does he give it up to protect the only family he has left? *Sequel to 'Enemy of my Enemy'/Read that before this so you won't be confused* OCs belong to me
1. Prologue

On Unsteady Ground (Prologue)

He sped down the street at top speed, the sounds of sirens behind him.

Unfortunately, he didn't get far as he thought he would.

A tree fell right in his path, forcing him to swerve in order to avoid it. Thankfully, he managed to swerve onto a path that those pursuing him couldn't take. But when he stopped, he noticed something was off. The ground was shaking violently, forcing everyone around him to run for cover as trees, limbs and powerlines fell to the ground.

Not only that, but cracks appeared in the unsteady ground beneath him. The ground became soggy, his boots sinking a little.

It added to the destruction around him.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The scream had everything falling away. His attention zeroed in on the little girl on the swings and the strawberry blonde woman that was dashing for her.

The man shot forward, everything else falling away. He had tunnel vision, until the ground beneath his feet gave way. He managed to grab a ledge mere moments after the shock of falling faded.

"Give me your hand!"

He never was able to reach upward as the ledge he was holding cracked, giving way. He and two that were standing above him fell into the darkness.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Griffin Rock, Maine.

That was the last place that Eric Philip Everton, former member of the Assassin Brotherhood, thought he'd ever wind up.

But it was the only place where the ancient struggle hadn't yet touched. It matched every criterion that he needed in order to raise his niece according to his sister's last request.

Eric glanced down at Evangeline, who was cradled in his arms asleep. The almost five-year-old was quite the handful but very cute at the same time. He had found her at a safehouse, one that was run by an old friend of the Everton family. Once Eric had proven who he was and thanked the woman for keeping his niece safe, he had quickly taken his niece and hit the road.

They were on the run from both the Assassins and Templars for seven months before Eric decided that he needed a quiet place to lay low until Evangeline was old enough to protect herself. He figured that life on the run was no way to raise a child.

So, while searching the web at a local library for places, Eric had found the perfect place. A small, peaceful little island off the coast of Maine where nothing important happened. It almost seemed too good to be true.

The island had a reputation for being a high-tech testing sight, but Eric didn't mind that one bit. And if he was by himself, it would've seemed like it was like a boring place.

But he wasn't alone anymore.

It had been about two years since Eric had found out that his sister, Maya, had secretly married Assassin hacker, Shaun Hastings, and had a child with him. One that Maya had left behind after a mission to an enemy fortress went wrong and she was killed.

Eric had left Jasper, Nevada soon after his sister had been killed to search for Evangeline. It had taken him about seven months to locate the safehouse where she was being kept, as he had left everything electronic in Jasper to keep his cousin and Aunt from tracking him. When Eric had found the safehouse and clapped eyes on his niece, his heart did a somersault.

Evangeline had the family's trademark, dark hair and steel-grey eyes. She was energetic, bright, curious and very much a classical sneak. Eric had his hands full trying to keep up with the child. It took every bit of Eric's training to keep up with Evangeline.

At first, Eric had a hard time taking care of Evangeline. His niece looked so much like his deceased sister, it hurt to look at her sometimes.

Eventually, Eric came around, figuring that Maya wouldn't want him to mourn her the rest of his life.

She wanted him to take care of Evangeline, to give her all the love that she herself would've given her if she had been alive.

Eric sighed as he shifted his niece to the other arm, gently shushing the young girl when she started to wake. They had been on the road for about six days, traveling from New Hampshire near the US-Canadian border, driving as fast as he dared to make it in time to catch the next ferry to their new home for a while.

Evangeline was a cranky child when sleepy. Almost as soon as the two had boarded the ferry, and it left port, the little girl had immediately conked out while they were looking for dolphins. Most of the ride to the little island was spent holding his sleeping niece and watching the horizon pass slowly.

It was a nice quiet ride.

_There's something peaceful about this_, Eric thought as he rubbed the beard that he grew over the course of their run. While he kept his relatively long hair, Eric kept the beard in order to be conspicuous.

He was truly looking forward to this peaceful place, removed from the rest of the world. It was something that he hadn't had during his childhood.

He and his sister didn't get to have a childhood like most kids. Most of the time, they spent their early days in a dark underground room, training to be ruthless killers that slunk around in the shadows. They spent hours studying the history of the Assassins in the makeshift classrooms, hours in the training halls learning maneuvers and developing their own style of fighting.

No going to the movies. No hanging out with close friends after school.

Only hours of grueling training that took their very identity away and molded them into the perfect soldiers for the Assassin Brotherhood to let loose on their enemies…

Eric shook his head in despair. Nothing could take away the harsh words of his last argument with Maya away.

Just like everything else in his life, he regretted it.

He regretted not seeing the truth sooner, not seeing the pain that his sister was in before her death.

He was blind, blinder than a man without his vision. He never saw the weapon he and his sister had become, the weapon that all of them had become since the dawn of this useless struggle.

Evangeline lifted her head drowsily.

"Hey there, Sleepy Head." Eric muttered as the girl blinked around. "Have a good nap?"

"There yet?"

"No not yet. But we'll be there soon, I promise." Eric started to rock his niece back and forth in his arms, humming the notes of a lullaby when it looked like she was about to whine. "What do you want for supper?"

"Chicken nuggets?"

Eric chuckled. The young child was in love with chicken nuggets for some reason. But he was thankful for that, because she wouldn't eat anything else he put on her plate.

"We can have chicken nuggets as long as you eat some broccoli okay?"

She gave a small whine. "Don't like broccoli."

"I know but it's healthy for you." The man countered. "Gonna help you grow big and strong, like your Unule Eric."

There was a small giggle as Eric smiled. His little niece was the only light in his very dark life. The only good that came from all the years of bloodshed he and his sister had led.

Evangeline wiggled in his hold, forcing him to place the young child on the ground. The young girl quickly grasped his jeans, staring at her surroundings with hesitance and a slight hint of fear. As curious and energetic as the young girl might be, she was shy. It was a strange combination of traits but Eric loved his niece regardless.

About thirty more minutes of staring out at the empty horizon, the island of Griffin Rock appeared.

And with it, Eric's hopes for a new, quiet life away from the bloodshed rose.

He prayed that he could stay hidden among the people of the highly advanced island. There was a little niggle in the back of his mind that whispered doubt into his mind, saying that he would never be able to leave his past behind him. That it would come back and bite him later when he wasn't expecting it.

But he shook his head, dispelling the whispers. Regardless of his past, he only had one mission until he died.

And that was to keep his niece away and ignorant of his and her mother's life. The age-old phrase 'Ignorant is bliss' has never been truer than in this moment.

"Attention passengers," the Scottish drawl of the captain over the intercom system had Eric glancing towards the ship's bridge. "We are approaching Griffin Rock. Please return to your cars and prepare for docking. Welcome to Griffin Rock."

"There yet, Unule Eric?" Evangeline asked as he buckled her into her car seat.

"Just about, Sweetie."

"What we gonna do?"

"Well," He said as he finished locking the last clasp. "First we're going to find a place to stay then we're going to get some food."

"Will I be able to go outside this time?"

Eric smiled sadly. While on the road, Eric didn't let Evangeline outside for very long. He couldn't be sure if he was paranoid or if he was overprotective, but there was a fear that he was being stalked by both orders, more so than the Templars than the Assassins. As the Brother of the Devil, he had killed many Templars and there were many more that were probably itching for the honor to kill him. Fear for his niece pulsed through him every time he thought he saw someone trailing him or a car that lingered too long outside where they were living for the time.

Thankfully, though, he was pretty sure that they were safe on Griffin Rock.

His research into the little island went far beyond what was on the internet for the public. The founder of the island town, Horace Burns, was once a member of the London Assassins, though he left that life behind when he took up the mantle of protector of the island's people. There was also speculation that his wife, once known as Bertha the Pirate, was a member of the Templars who also left her life behind after a betrayal, although there was no real evidence of that.

Despite the fact that the story of Assassin Horace Burns and Templar Bertha Carnahan could be nothing more than a rumor, it wasn't the only story of an Assassin falling in love with a Templar.

On the other side of the world, during the bloodiest period of French History, there were two star-crossed lovers that fell in love.

Elise De La Serre and Arno Dorian.

Both from opposite sides of the war, but still found and gave each other their hearts and love. It sounded sappy, even to Maya who found herself in love with that specific point in Assassin History, but she knew, even then that peace was possible if there was just one person on each side who were willing to make a difference.

As much as he wanted to believe that could happen again, Eric didn't hold his breath. It was a false hope that only naïve initiates believed.

Eric's heart tightened at that thought.

"Yeah, you will." He muttered, kissing the top of his niece's dark hair.

He stood, quickly wiping away the tear that had escaped his eye without him noticing.

That was what he called Maya during their last argument, the one that drove her to do a suicide mission with no possible outcome except death. The words that had flung themselves from his mouth came crashing down on him as he buckled himself into the driver's seat.

_What you're saying is borderline crazy, Maya. You don't need to go around saying that you want peace. People will start to think that you're a Rogue. There will _never _be peace between our kind. The Templars will never agree to an alliance. You're just being naïve._

His words haunted him in the days after Maya's death. Even now, they swirled around his brain during the moments of quiet and peace, when his beloved niece was fast asleep and a look of peaceful innocence was on her face.

What ifs moved around him quickly like bees wanting to sting someone, to insert their venom into.

_What if he hadn't shot his sister down so quickly?_

_ What if he had _listened _to what she had to say, what she had planned? _

_ What if he had followed her, forcing her to return to base to talk like they use to when they were upset or scared?_

The answers stung at his heart a lot more painfully than the thoughts.

He could've listened to his sister.

Could've heard what she had to say, her own plans for peace that they could take to William Miles.

She could've been alive to live the rest of her days out in peace with her husband and her daughter by her side.

They could've revealed themselves to their aunt and cousin, told them the truth about what happened to their mother. Give their Aunt June some peace about what happened.

Eric would've been there to help Maya face down Silas and the MECH soldiers. Could've been able to overtake him and ended the alliance the man shared with the Templars.

Everything that could've saved his sister came back to him, every possibility that he should've taken replayed in his mind.

Things would've turned out differently if his _actions_ were different.

The shaking of the barge as it connected with the pier took Eric out of the past and pulled him into the present. He started the car, forcing a smile as he glanced into the rearview mirror. Evangeline was glancing out the window, humming to herself some silly little tune that she heard somewhere, swinging her feet with blissful innocence.

He gave a smile before turning his eyes back to the road, his foot pressing on the gas pedal. The car smoothly pitched forward and Eric left the barge behind as they merged onto the main road.

_Ignorance is bliss. _

If only he could keep it that way forever.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Even though Eric did as much research on the island as he could, the place still surprised him. The town itself stretched over a small part of the island, leaving the forests and mountain that surrounded the city untouched. The man opened the window as he drove. There was a small smile that appeared on his face as a cool breeze, carrying the salt of the sea, entered the car.

The stress lines around his eyes loosened. Exhaustion left him and he felt rejuvenated. People milled about on the sidewalks, in cafes, shops or restaurant.

Some had young kids.

Eric parked in a parking lot right across from a super market and together, he and Evangeline went shopping for food. He chuckled while Evangeline excitedly ran around not too far from his sight, looking at the frozen foods. He shook his head as he grabbed a couple boxes of chicken stripes, much to his niece's unfettered delight and pouting face when he snagged the biggest bag of frozen peas and broccoli.

"No broccoli. Don't like." She said with a huff, shaking her head. Eric sighed, kneeling down in front of the young girl.

"Evangeline, you have to have your vegetables." He insisted. "You can't just live off chicken nuggets."

"But I want to!"

"But you can't." He snatched her up before she could throw a fit. "How about we make a deal, huh?"

When Evangeline looked up at him with a pouty face, Eric had to suppress a smirk. He had her now.

"If you can eat everything on your plate, vegetables included, then we can go out and get ice cream later."

The pout slowly disappeared until she was practically beaming. Eric smiled back, giving her a kiss on the forehead and setting her back down. They continued shopping, grabbing the bare essentials that they would need for their new temporary home. While he was paying for everything, Eric felt his phone ping in his pocket.

Brow furrowed, he pulled out his pre-paid cellphone. The number that was on the screen was from a realtor, probably to tell him that the house he was renting was ready for them to move in. Eric sighed to himself in relief. He was worried that he would've been outbid by someone else when putting an offer down to rent it.

"Unul?" Evangeline tugged on his pants.

"Oh, hm? Wanna help me carry some of the bags?"

Evangeline jumped up and down, bursting with excitement as though Eric offered her a Nobel Prize. "YEAH!"

Eric chuckled as he handed her the lightest bag out of the bunch. He went a little rigid when he heard a deep chuckle behind him as he allowed his niece to walk in front of him. The man turned back, relaxing a bit to see an older man with grey hair and a mustache watching them with a look that was similar to wistfulness. Beside him, stood a young boy, maybe around age ten watching his dad with a small smile.

He shook his head before running to catch up with his niece. He managed to grab her before she was able to run into the streets.

"No! Down! Down!"

"You're not running into traffic." Eric whispered into her ear. He was struggling to hold on to his niece and the bags, but managed to get them and his niece back to the car.

After the struggle of getting the groceries in the trunk and putting Evangeline in her car seat, they were off to the house. Eric listened absently to his niece humming some tune while he drove, weaving through the small residential area until they arrived.

It was a decently sized house, probably built in the late 1700s. It looked to be the only historical house on the block, quite possibly the entire neighborhood.

His sister would've loved it.

"Is that our new house, Unule?" Evangeline asked as he parked the car.

"Yeah." He answered wistfully. "That's our new house. You like it?"

"Uh huh."

"Okay then." Eric unbuckled his seatbelt and while unbuckling Evangeline, who was really showing her excitement at finally having a yard to run around in, he heard someone walk up behind him. The man suppressed his instincts to whirl around and impale whoever dared to sneak up on him. But he was surprised when whoever was walking up behind him tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh! Hello!" the overly happy realtor stated as he jumped. Evangeline giggled, squeezing past the two adults and dashing out into the yard. "Oh my, she seems excited."

"Yeah, she does." Eric answered with a smile.

"You must be Mr. Phillip, correct?"

"Yes, I am." Eric took the woman's hand and shook it. He took a deep breath as he stared at the house. "So, how long do we have it for?"

The woman pulled a file out of her briefcase, thumbing through it until she found what she was looking for. "You have the house for about two-and-a-half months or until you decide to leave."

"Thanks so much." Eric said as he took the key the woman handed him

"My pleasure, sir."

Eric watched the woman walk away before turning to watch Evangeline. The little almost five-year-old was running around like she was on cloud nine.

At one point, she tripped over her own feet, but before Eric could go and make sure she was okay, Evangeline picked herself up and continued to run around. The sight made him chuckle. His niece was fast, almost close to a blur streak of black and pink, the complete picture of innocence and happiness.

He managed to shake himself from watching his niece with love, realizing that he didn't have much more time left before the perishables melted.

"Hey, Evangeline!" he called. His niece was in the middle of sprinting across the grass again when he called her name. She spun mid-stride, falling over to the side with a giggle.

"I'm 'kay!" she shouted before Eric could rush over to her. His niece picked herself up, made a big show of dusting herself off-Eric winced at the grass stains that were going to be hell to get out- before running over to him.

"Why don't we get the groceries into the house and get settled?" He asked after kneeling down to eye level.

"Can I play outside after?"

"If it's not too dark and you finish everything on your plate."

"Okay." Evangeline kicked at the grass as Eric opened the trunk to the car. With the little girl's help, Eric had put all the groceries into the refrigerator.

All the kitchen appliances were relatively modern, along with the pots, pans, utensils and other kitchen tools. They glowed underneath the antique light fixture that were still hanging from the ceiling. Eric found himself smiling up, taking the combination of modern and antique, a strange combination that seemed to work rather well. It was a nice home, one that Eric felt completely at peace in it, almost as though he was coming home.

He smiled to himself.

"Unule Eric? Can I get upstairs?"

Eric glance down at his niece, who had bounded into the kitchen after examining the downstairs area. He smiled at his niece's boundless energy as she bounced on the balls of her feet, her grey eyes alive and glittering with excitement.

"Sure. Let's go and pick out your room."

Evangeline giggled happily as she dashed up the stairs, leaving Eric to follow with her tiny pink suitcase. The staircase seemed to curve around before straightening out, the dark wood banister shining underneath the large, twinkling chandelier in the main foyer. When he reached the top of the stairs, his young raven-haired niece was dashing in and out of rooms, her face beaming brighter than any star and a stream of giggles of happiness flowed out of her. She was hardly in a room for about five seconds before she came dashing out in. She skidded to a stop when she noticed her uncle watching her.

"This. House. Is. AWESOME!" she exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

Eric chuckled. "Is it now?"

Evangeline nodded enthusiastically. "It's like a castle! So big!"

That had Eric's smile falling a bit. Most of the apartments that he had rented were only one room, so this two-story, six-bedroom, three-bathroom house was truly a castle to a small five-year-old.

"Have you picked out a room yet, Evangeline?"

Her face twisted up in an expression of thought while facing the three rooms that she faced. "Eeny meeny miny moe, catch a tiger by its toe, if he hollers let him go, my unule told me to pick the very best one and you are not…_it!"_

Her finger landed on the biggest room in the upstairs, the one with a tree painted on the wall with pink flowers over the bed. Apparently, it had been the one that she wanted, as she squealed in happiness, bouncing on her feet before dashing inside. Eric shook his head as followed Evangeline. The room was quite nice, very spacious and roomy. It was a circular room with a bed pressed up against the wall with an antique nightstand right next to it. The lamp was one of those antique lanterns that people used during the Revolutionary War, a gas lanterns that were powered with a turn of a switch.

He knew that he would have to remove it from the room for his niece's safety, but it was a nice thing to have.

Evangeline jumped onto the bed excitedly, still nothing but giggles. "Unule! Unule! I got my own room!"

"And it's really nice room." Eric complemented, placing her suitcase right next to the closet. "Why don't you put your clothes away while I go make supper?"

Evangeline sat straight up in the bed; her steel-grey eyes alit with happiness. "CHICKEN NUGGETS!"

Eric smiled to himself as he turned and walked down the stairs. He was halfway down when he heard the doorbell ring. His brow furrowed.

Now who could that be?

It couldn't possibly be someone he knew. Everyone he knew was either an Assassin still fighting the Templars, or six feet under.

Fear coiled through him as he pictured someone standing at the door, a hitman hired by the Templars to track him down and finish him and quite possibly take his niece away from him. It was a fear that he had whenever a stranger, be it a salesperson or delivery person, rang the doorbell. It was something that he worried about, but he knew that there was nothing that could be done. Interacting with people had to be the only thing that he had to do.

Eric forced that fear down, and with his muscles tense as though he was a cat about to jump an unsuspecting bird, he opened the door.

What waited there on the other side was not what he expected.

There was a woman, about twenty-eight, standing out on the porch holding a fruit basket. Her strawberry blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, giving Eric full view of her oval shaped face and sparkling blue eyes. Her mouth formed a goofy smile as she held out the fruit basket.

"You must be the new renter," She said with forced enthusiasm. Eric could tell just by that greeting that she was a woman that didn't take nothing from no one.

"I am. The name's Eric Everton," Eric said without thinking, not even bothering to come up with a false name. He couldn't think of any, as the woman's piercing blue gaze held him and wouldn't let go.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Everton."

"Please, 'Eric' would be fine."

The corners of her mouth tightened, but he caught a twitch that threatened to become a smile. "Nice to meet you, Eric."

She all but thrusted the fruit basket into his hands.

"Oh, thanks for the basket. Would you want to come in? I was just about to get supper cooked."

"Depends. Whatcha having?"

"Chicken nuggets."

The woman scoffed, her brow furrowing. "That's a weird thing for a man your age to have."

Just at that moment, Evangeline came darting down the stairs, as though looking for a reason why she hadn't smelled her favorite food cooking yet. The woman caught sight of the little girl wandering around for her uncle. The sight of a new person had Evangeline dash to the safety behind Eric's legs, hiding half her face as she timidly peeked out from behind his pants.

"Well hello there," the woman greeted as she knelt down.

"Hi." Evangeline whispered back.

"Daughter?"

"Oh no. Niece."

The woman smiled again before standing, glancing down at her watch. "Thanks for the invitation but I've got to get going. Work and all"

She turned and started to walk away, but something in Eric had him calling back out to her.

"I don't even know your name!" He called out. The woman turned with a half-smile, her eyes glittering.

"It's Jennifer Wolcroft."

"Nice meeting you!"

Evangeline and Eric watched as the woman turned down on the road and disappearing. Eric couldn't help but smile, rolling the woman's name around in his head as he did so. It was only when Evangeline started to tug on his pants leg did he snapped himself out of his pondering. With a playful grunt, Eric knelt down and picked up his niece and held her close.

"You ready for supper, sweetpea?"

"Yeah! Chicken nuggets!"

"Yeah? Okay then, let's go get it made."

Eric shut the door behind him, feeling as though he truly did have a fresh start to his new life.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

_Eric…_

The man grumbled a little bit as he rolled over in his bed before settling back down into sleep. He sighed in content as he fell back into the dreamworld. Silence persisted for a moment before the voice whispered again.

_Eric…_

This time, he felt someone poking his face. Okay. He was getting a little ticked off a bit. It was six-thirty in the morning. All Eric wanted was to sleep in until about seven. If he could make it until seven, he would be fine.

_Eric…..._

"Evangeline, I swear-" Eric started to say, only to stop himself short when he sat up and saw that he was the only in the room.

He never believed in ghosts, but the hairs on his arms standing straight up told a different story. The closet on the other side of the room was open and Eric hadn't put any clothes in there so there was no way that, if there was someone in the room with him, they could be hiding in there. Slowly, every instinct that he had cultivated and grown since he was an Initiate flaring to life, Eric slid off the bed and made his way silently to the other door that led to his bathroom. After he had grabbed the doorknob, he waited a moment, ready for anything, before he yanked it open and flicked on the lights.

Nothing but a recently updated bathroom.

Eric slowly closed the door to the bathroom and made his way down stairs. His knew he looked a little ridiculous, sneaking around his own home in his checkered pajama pants, white sleep tee shirt, and his long hair an absolute mess, but he couldn't shake the feeling of eyes following him. He searched the entire house; looking into every space he had found since moving in yesterday.

Which, mind you, wasn't a lot since they had been there less than twenty-four hours, but Eric had to give some of the credit to his niece. Evangeline spent a good portion of the night running around trying to find all the special places and hidden doors that she had heard about in fairytales. It had taken him _hours _to get her to come down off her sorta-sugar-rush at the excitement of finding a hidden hole in the house long enough for him to get her bathed and put to bed.

All of the spaces were places where an intruder could hide, which was why Eric checked them all.

Eventually, he ran up the stairs quietly, hopeful that Evangeline would still be up there in her bed. Fear curled through Eric as he checked every room, checking Evangeline's last. He didn't relax until he saw for himself that Evangeline was curled up in her bed with her stuff bear. While it was comforting to see the young girl was still in bed, the sight had Eric's brow furrowing.

Normally, Evangeline would be up by now, bounding around him while he cooked breakfast.

Eric's brow furrowed as he quietly stalked across the room. He placed his hand on his niece's forehead, relaxing a bit when he didn't feel anything that felt like a fever.

So why was his niece still in bed when she should've been up at about thirty minutes ago?

"Evangeline?" Eric whispered. The young girl stirred before blinking up sleepily at her beloved unule.

"Unule? Whatcha you doin'?" she asked sleepily.

"Are you feeling okay, sweetheart?"

Evangeline gently pushed Eric's hand away as she sat up, pushing herself up onto her knees. She blinked around the room, her brow furrowing. "Where'd she'd go?"

"Where who'd go?"

"That lady with the big blue dress." Evangeline explained, as though that answered everything. "She'd come and sit with me last night. Told me stories!"

"Oh really?" Eric shoved down his rising fear as he realized that this 'lady with the big blue dress' was probably someone in Evangeline's imagination. She didn't have a mother figure or a friend to play with, so she must've created this woman she was talking about.

_We're gonna have to remedy that, _Eric thought. He decided right then and there that they would start to set roots.

Allow Evangeline to live a life that he never had.

"Unule? Can we have pancakes?"

Eric smiled. "Sure, sweetie. Come on. Let's get you changed."

It took a bit since Evangeline couldn't decide what to wear that day. Eventually, after fighting his niece into a light blue top that said 'All happy, All day', blue jeans and some small converse shoes, the two made their way down stairs to the kitchen where Eric made some pancakes. Eric was an expert at making pancakes while Evangeline ran around his legs, very unaware of the danger that hovered over her.

After the very sticky mess that was breakfast, Eric and his niece took a trip down to the shopping district of town. It also doubled as a way for Eric to get some applications sent in as they went in each store in curiosity. He was extremely worried about the strain on his and his sister's private and public bank account. He and his young niece had been living off that money since he had found her. He would've been fine if living off vending machine and fast food if it was just him and Maya living out of their suitcases. But Evangeline was a little girl who needed real, healthy food to grow, and that costs money. Adding to the fact that he and his niece weren't sleeping in the car, but in real places, nice hotels and renting out some rooms, was probably quickly draining his and his sister's account.

He got about three applications to places that were hiring and while Evangeline toddled around the playground, he sat on the bench and filled them out. The one that he was more certain he'd get was the bar tender at a local restaurant. Eric smiled a bit as he remembered his life in New York before the whole Jasper fiasco that took his sister away from him.

That smile faded a bit.

His eyes drifted up to the young girl playing on the swings, the application half-forgotten.

There were a lot of things that Eric regretted about that trip. One of the biggest one was not seeing the pain that his sister had been in before she went off on a suicide mission. Or listening to her point of view, instead of arguing with her about her being stupid.

Eric shook his head again. There was no need in to dwell on what was passed. He did enough of that the first few weeks that he had Evangeline in his custody.

Now was a time for a fresh start.

He waved at his niece when he caught her eye. She was swinging like an expert on the monkey bars. After holding his niece's gaze for a little while longer, Eric quickly filled out the rest of the application. Eric placed them to the side after he finished filling them out and just leaned back, watching Evangeline closely with a small smile on his face. The young girl would run between the playground and him, telling him breathlessly what she was doing before running back to play.

It was rather amusing, to say the least.

It was getting close to lunch when Eric took Evangeline from the park and back home for something to eat. He dropped off the applications on the way back, hoping that he would be able to get a job.

"I hope you get your job, Unule." Evangeline said as she skipped down the sidewalk after they dropped the last application.

"I hope so too." Eric agreed. A thought came to mind. "We're gonna have to find a preschool."

"A what?"

"It's like somewhere for you to go during the day while I'm at work." He said simply. Eric grabbed Evangeline's hand when they came to a crosswalk, though his grip was somewhat loose. He tilted in his head in amusement at the floating traffic light. He had seen a lot of amazing tech around the town that day, but the floating traffic light was his absolute favorite.

Of course, that amusement went out the window when Evangeline slipped out of his loose grip and, after pushing her way through the crowd, onto the streets, chasing a squirrel that had caught her attention. She had toddled to the middle of the crosswalk, stopping dead center as she glanced around, confused as to where the squirrel had gone.

His heart all but stopped in his chest.

"EVANGELINE!" He cried.

Eric elbowed his way through the crowd of people, ignoring the looks of annoyance. He glanced down the street, where a bright orange Cadillac was roaring down the street. The man didn't even see his niece glance around for that squirrel that she had been chasing, too busy texting on his rather expensive looking phone. But even if he did see his niece, there would be no way he could stop at the speed he was going.

Eric felt like shouting, but all he could do was stare in horror as the car came closer and closer to his niece, who also was frozen in horror.

_OH, DEAR GOD! NO!_


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Eric managed to shake off his horror but feared that he wasn't going to make it, still having to elbow his way through annoyed people. Thankfully, a police man threw himself towards the little girl and grabbed his niece, rolling away just as the orange Cadillac barreled through a red light.

The raven-haired man near about threw up from relief as he dashed over to where the police man was making sure Evangeline was okay.

"Evangeline!" Eric breathed as he knelt down and embraced his niece. Shock was thrown off him and he pulled away, grabbing her by her shoulders. "You are never to do that! You know that."

"Sorry, Unule." Evangeline muttered, finding the ground very interesting. Eric sighed heavily.

"It's fine, just…. make sure you never do that, again. Okay? Do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." He glanced up to the police officer, noticing that he was the person he saw at the grocery store staring him. "Hey, how's it going? The name's Eric, Eric Everton."

As the two stood, they shook hands.

"Hi. I'm Chief Charlie Burns."

"Nice to meet ya. Thanks for saving my niece."

"No problem, part of the job description." He gave the two of them a once over. "Don't think I've ever seen you two around before."

"We just got here, yesterday." Eric explained. "We're renting the house on Sycamore. The old one."

"Ah." Chief Burns hummed. He pulled out a notepad and pen. For a small moment, Eric thought that he was getting a ticket or something but when Chief Burns handed it to him, he relaxed when he noticed that it was a phone number and address. "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call."

"Oh, that's very kind of you, but it's not really necessary." Eric said. He tried to hand the card back but Chief Burns held up his hand and shook his head.

"Keep it. We keep an eye for each other in this town."

That made Eric smiled. Kindness like that was rare to the point of it being almost nonexistent. Eric thanked the police chief, tucking the card into his pocket, grabbing his niece's hand tightly before walking off. The card seemed to weigh in his pocket as though he had placed a handful of rocks in his pocket.

Even in the Assassin Brotherhood, one man would be on his own. Sure, they would come together when something big threatened the order as a whole, but most of the time, a single member was responsible for himself and his targets.

Eric never found any problem with that.

Of course, that was before he tried to raise his niece by himself with no previous child rearing experiences. He struggled, and he couldn't get himself to ask for help from those around him. It was instincts and habit that kept him in the shadows with his niece clutched to his chest. Everything he knew was from trial and error, and most of the time, he was on the verge of panic. New life, new start, so that meant a new type of living.

He was no longer surviving day to day.

He was actually living, with his niece by his side and an island full of people around him willing to help him if he needed.

Maya would've been so happy.

Eric glanced down, worried that something was wrong with his niece as they came closer to their house. Something settled into his stomach as he and her strolled up to the door. Evangeline was quiet throughout lunch, worrying him even further. Knowing her, she would've been chatting about all the things that she did that day, even if he watched her closely. Instead, she poked the chicken nuggets and steamed vegetables silently.

"Evangeline, are you feeling okay, sweetheart?"

"Am I in trouble, Unule Eric?" Evangeline asked quietly.

"Why would you be trouble?"

"Ran out in the middle of road. Not supposed to I know." She glanced up; her steel grey eyes watery. "Are you mad?"

Eric sighed, leaning forward a bit. "I am a little angry. But my not mad. More scared than angry, actually, but not full-blown mad."

"Why are you scared?"

"I don't know what I would do without you, Evangeline." Eric muttered, standing before picking up his niece, holding her closely. "You are the only one in my life that makes it worth living."

"What about momma?"

His heart shattered a bit. The past three years and Evangeline never once questioned why her mother wasn't here with her. But he knew it was coming soon enough.

"Your mom loved you. So much. But she's not here."

"Why?"

"How about we wait until bedtime, huh? Then I can tell you another story."

That seemed to perk the little girl and the mood right up. "Okay! I wanna finish my chicken nuggets now."

Eric shook his head, trying to ignore the whiplash that he got when Evangeline switched moods. He nodded, placing her on the ground where she toddled back over to the table. A small smile formed on his face as he watched the little girl eat. A familiar pang in his chest reminded him of the hole that was there, but he shoved the pang downward.

"Unule Eric?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we play a game after I finish my plate?"

"Sure thing. What do you want to play?"

"Go fish!"

Evangeline pouted at the sight before her, causing Eric to giggle a little. It was pretty cute the way she pouted. Her nose would scrunch up and her brows would furrow. Adorable and hilarious.

"Don't know if I can win…..." the girl muttered as she picked up a card from the middle deck. She went through her deck, the pout deepening.

"If you're gonna play cards with me, Evangeline, you're going to need a poker face."

"What's that?" She asked distractedly.

"Nothing, sweet-peach." He glanced down at his cards. "Do you have any pairs?"

"Uh, yeah!" The young girl slammed down two of the same cards with octopus on it. Her face was the brightest he had ever seen it. "Now I get to make you draw cards!"

"First, you have to tell me what kind of cards you want." Eric reminded her.

"Oh. Uh…...do you have any…. sharks?"

Eric glanced down, fighting a smirk that threatened to grow. He bit his lip as he glanced down at his hand, sighing dramatically when he spotted a shark. "Darn. I do."

"Hand it over!" Evangeline demanded, holding out her hand and grasping.

"How do you ask?"

She sighed dramatically, but stated, "_Please_ hand it over."

"Okay." He said as he handed the card to his niece. She shuffled her cards around until she placed the pairs on the table. Before he could ask her any questions, Evangeline yawned hugely. "Okay, I think it's time for bed."

"Not tired!" Evangeline shouted, trying not to yawn again.

"Oh, but you are. Come on. I'll even tell you a story about mom."

That was the winning straw for Eric. He didn't want Evangeline growing up and not know about her mom. Eric wanted his niece to know about Maya as much as Eric didn't want to forget about her. Telling his niece about his sister was a way that he could remember the good times.

After the hassle of getting Evangeline bathed and placed her in her light pink nightclothes, Eric snuggled in with his niece with a sigh.

"How about I tell you of the time when me and your mom were facing down a whole battalion of soldiers in Key West?"

The story was one of Evangeline's favorite. She snuggled up against her favorite uncle as she listened, contently, to the story that had captured her attention. The young girl tried to stay awake through all of it. Especially when her unule got to the action part of the story, but Evangeline nodded off in the middle, content in the knowledge that she knew her mom despite never meeting her.

When Eric felt Evangeline nodded off, he smiled, kissing her forehead before removing himself from the bed. He tucked the covers around the sleeping four-year-old before padding back to his room.

However, no matter how tired he was, Eric couldn't get himself to sleep.

The story, the memory of the closest mission that the two siblings ever faced, drew up a feeling that he missed.

An exhilarating feeling that he had been addicted to for so long.

The thrill of stalking his prey, the excitement he felt when he made the final preparations, the buzz of energy that shot through him when he-

Eric shook his head, dispelling the feelings that had appeared without warning. He licked his lips, feeling empty suddenly. There were plenty of times over the course of the three years on the run when all he wanted to do was pull his robes and Blade on, and slink through the shadows. He wanted to feel the rush of adrenaline that pumped through his veins again.

It wouldn't work on an island this small but…...

He still had his soft-soled, steel-toed boots, his Assassin robes, and his Hidden Blade.

But more importantly, he had an urge to get out and fly over the town.

_What about Evangeline, huh?_ The rational part of his mind that had been fighting with the part of his mind that had been trained to smother spoke up. _What is she going to do if she wakes up in the middle of the night and find that you're not here? She would panic, and go searching for him_. _She would perhaps stumble upon his hidden life, and want to be a part of it. _

He would know. That's how he became introduced to the life of the Assassins Order. Except he was much younger than his niece was when he got curious.

Eric swore that his niece would have nothing to do with any Assassin dealing until he deemed her old enough.

Had promised Maya that she wouldn't get involved.

So, until he decided at a later date, Eric would hold off on the galivanting around the island in his Assassins robe. Perhaps he could meditate on it.

He sighed as he crawled into his own bed, feeling exhaustion weigh down on him. Eric pulled the covers around him, his head relaxing on the pillow before his prepaid cellphone went off.

"Hello?" He answered it in the most 'I-wasn't-about-to-go-to-bed-at-eight-because-I-am-not-an-uncle-dealing-with-a-very-energetic-niece' tone he could muster.

"Is this Eric Everton?"

Said man lifted an eyebrow. "Speaking?"

"Hi Mr. Everton. I was just calling in regards to your job application."

He glanced over at his clock, his brow scrunching up. "This late at night? So soon?"

"Yeah, I don't get it either. But, anyway, I'm calling you because my manager would like to interview you for the job."

"Oh, yeah, sure. That…. that sounds great. What time do I need to come in?"

"Any time tomorrow would work."

"Okay…. sounds great." Eric paused. "Do you know if there's a daycare around here?" 

**Sorry for the unscheduled posting. I got SUPER busy all of the sudden once the Christmas season ended. Expect three uploads a month. Sporadically of course. **


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Where we going, Unule?"

Eric glanced down at his niece, smiling a little as he took in his niece all dressed in her outfit. He was dressed for his job interview that was scheduled for after he dropped his niece off.

"You're going to preschool-"

"What's that?"

"A place where you're going for the day. You're going to meet all kinds of other kids," Eric answered with as much excitement as he could muster. "And while you do that, I'm going to be out getting a job."

There was silence for the rest of the way to the preschool. When the building was in sight, Evangeline stopped. Eric glanced down at his niece and saw her pouting.

"Why can't I just come with you?"

Eric, knowing where this was going, knelt down to eye level. "Because. I'm going to be working at a grown person place. And I want you to make friends."

"But I don't want friends!"

"Oh, sweet girl, you're going to be fine." Eric assured her, wrapping her in a warm hug. When he broke away, he stroked her head gently. "I'll make you a deal. Okay?"

"Okay."

"If you make it through the entire day and you make one friend, then I'll take you out for ice cream."

"Promise?"

Eric held his hand up and crossed his heart. "Promise with all my heart."

Evangeline glanced over at the entrance of the preschool where smiling bright women were greeting the parents and children before glancing back at Eric with those big grey eyes. "I'll be good, then."

Eric smiled, giving her a small kiss on the forehead. "Alright. I'll walk you to the door. Okay?"

Evangeline, clutching his hand a little tighter, eyed the door as the two got closer. Eric smiled to himself as he approached one of the women at the door. The already smiling woman brightened even further when she made eye contact with Eric.

Eric knew that the people of Griffin Rock were friendly, but sometimes the overly-happy people could…...make his skin crawl.

It kind of creeped him out a bit.

"Hello! Welcome to the Griffin Rock Preschool. I'm Mrs. Rubio and who's this little bundle of adorableness?"

"This is Evangeline," Eric answered for his niece who was trying to hide behind his legs. "We're new in town."

"Oh, you must be the guy who's living at Crestwood!"

"Crestwood?"

"The old house on Sheraton. That's the name of the house. You know, it was built in the early-1800s?"

Eric's brow furrowed. "Yeah?"

"Yep. There are some records at the town's library if you want to look into research."

"Oh, for sure." Eric nodded, feeling truly excited to do research. But the bubble of excitement was dampened when he glanced at his watch. "I've got to go. Evangeline, remember our promise okay?"

"Okay." The girl whispered. After another moment of trying to pry Evangeline's little fingers from his pants legs, Eric bid his niece goodbye as she was ushered into the building. After a glance over his shoulder, Eric walked as quickly as he darted towards the restaurant. Thankfully, it was only a couple blocks from the preschool.

When he entered, he was feeling a little nervous, but when he glanced over at the bar, he felt a little more confident. When he lived in New York, Eric was the best bartender there was. It was one of the few things he could do with his Assassin reflexes on full view for the world and not worry about getting looked at with suspicion. This was going to be difficult, reconnecting with his past life before he and Maya went on their last mission together, but he was going to have to try.

For Evangeline.

"Mr. Everton?"

That drew him out of his thoughts pretty quick. Flashing a charming smile, he turned with a 'yes' on his lips only to have it die when he faced the woman he met when they first arrived at the island.

"Hey, I know you!" The woman exclaimed, hand on her aproned hip. "You're the guy that-"

"Moved into Crestwood, yeah I am." Eric finished. He was getting really tired of getting that statement thrown at him. "And I know who you are. You're the one that stopped by and gave us a fruit basket."

"Yeah." The woman winced. "I normally don't do stuff like that. I know how overwhelming it can be to live on an island of overly friendly people."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Eric chuckled at his quip.

"Yep. So, if you need someone to be snarky to you and you want to be snarky back to, just give me a call." The woman gave him a wink.

Eric gave a small, genuine smile. "Sure thing."

"You're here for the interview, right?"

"Yeah, yeah I am."

"Okay, let me get the manager, you can go and grab a seat over by the bar. Okay?"

"Got it." Eric made his way over to the bar, sitting a little awkwardly on the stool. He glanced around the place, taking note of the denim clad servers move around the floor smoothly. Some were removing dirty dishes from empty tables, others were bringing food in, while others lounged near the expo line. Eric took everything in a split-second. It was organized chaos happening around him, something that he was used to in both the Assassins and his former work.

He had a feeling this all going to work out perfectly.

"Eric Everton?"

"That's me!" The man exclaimed as he swung around.

Only, he stopped and had to crane his neck upward to look in the eye of the probable manager.

"Whoa…..."

"Yeah." The older man nodded. "I get that a lot. Name's Jamie Tripp. I'm the manager of this fine establishment. Why don't we sit down?"

"Sure thing."

The two sat down at an empty table, Mr. Tripp placing all the papers in front of him in a semi-circle. Eric fiddled with the hem of his sleeve nervously.

"Okay. You're resume looks excellent." The man muttered as he pulled out the paper Eric faxed to him.

_God I'm old, _Eric thought as he repressed a wince.

"You have experience. And your former boss said you were an excellent worker." There was a pause before the older man glanced up. "However, she did say that you left suddenly? You were gone for three months and never returned. May I ask why was that?"

Eric sighed inwardly. He knew that the question was coming, but it didn't soften the blow.

"My sister and I were looking for our father. He disappeared and our mother was killed in a drive-by six months before. She wanted me to come with her to find him, and since I saved up a bunch of vacation time, I decided to go. We, uh, didn't find our father and I lost my sister."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Yeah. I'm taking care of her daughter for her."

"What about your sister's husband?"

Eric shrugged. "Don't know."

And that was the truth. About a year on the road with Evangeline, word reached him that Desmond Miles had perished in a First Civilization Grand Temple, somewhere near New York. He had sacrificed himself to keep the world from coming to a fiery and disastrous end much like it did the Isu at the end of their civilization. Eric lost contact with Shaun Hastings, Maya's secret husband and Evangeline's father, when the trio split up to all corners of the world to try and rally the Assassins that were scattered across the globe.

There was no way he could know where the British hacker was or how he would contact him.

Eric didn't know if Shaun knew he had a daughter.

"Okay. So, enough with the uncomfortableness. How are your skills at making drinks?"

"Great."

"Okay, then. Let's go and see."

The two made their way towards the bar, and Mr. Tripp gave him a couple of drinks to make. Eric smirked as he easily made the drinks, adding his own little flare as he mixed and swirled and created. All of his old skills and motor memory came back in a moment, and he felt alive. He was in own little world, and when he finished his last drink, he was a little shocked and taken back by the crowd of servers, who had nothing better to do with the lull of customers, gathered around to watch him, mesmerized. The man gave an uneasy chuckle as he shuffled on his feet.

"So…how'd I do?"

His answer was Jennifer turning to the manager, his face still the expression of dumb shock. "If you don't hire him, I will knee you in the crotch."

Mr. Tripp stumbled for a moment, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Eric waited, as patiently as he could, for the man to get his brain to work.

"You're hired!"

Eric beamed. "When do I start?"

"You can start first thing in the morning! Jen, go and get Mr. Everton an apron and make sure that he knows protocol."

"Sure thing, boss." Jennifer strolled passed by everyone, more like shoving past them, tapping him on the shoulder when the she approached him. "Come on, Newbie. I'll show you everything you need to know."

"Thanks." Eric nodded. He glanced at his watch as the two traveled down a tight hallway, doing their best to avoid servers coming out of the kitchen. The silence that lingered over them was a little tense so the man decided to strike up a conversation. "Where are you from?"

"Brooklyn." Jennifer answered turning around and giving him a raised eyebrow and half smile. "What about you?"

"Manhattan. Well, a little to the right, but still Manhattan."

"Ah. So, how old is your niece?"

"She turns five in about ten days." Eric exclaimed proudly.

"Aw." Jennifer cooed. "She seems like such a cute girl."

"She is. Evangeline is, uh, she's my life."

The silence returned as they wove their way to the belly of the beast. Eric eyed the precariously stacked crates that could kill him if he wasn't careful. After a couple more turns, and feeling their way through the darkness, they finally stopped a far too small closet. Jennifer yanked it open, dashing back from the items that suddenly fell forward.

"Nice reflexes," Eric complemented as he bent down to help her pick up some of the stuff, only to jerk back when she kicked the junk backwards.

Jennifer gave a smirk and wiggle of her eyebrows. "Don't worry about that. I'll have Jason get it when he comes in tonight for the dinner shift."

"Okay…..."

He straightened, moving back as Jennifer rummaged through the items in the closet. While she did, she explained everything regarding protocol and especially the dress code.

"Denim?" Eric clarified.

"Oh yeah," Jennifer drawled, drawing out the 'oh'. "It doesn't have to be a certain shade. Just be sure it's button-up. Oh, here's your apron. And the shoes have to be black, and you must have black socks."

"Thanks." Eric examined the dark blue stripped apron. "So, what time should I get here for the morning?"

"At least an hour before your shift starts."

"Alright."

"Anymore questions?"

Eric had to bite down a smirk as he said, "When's the next time your free?"

Jennifer gave a laugh, biting down her on bottom lip as she looked at him. "I'm off most weekends. I can help out with you and your niece. If you need it, anyway."

"That would be nice. I think that Evangeline would like it."

"Great. I'll see you on the weekends, then." Jennifer gave him a pat on his shoulder before walking away. Before she turned the corner, she turned around and said, "See ya tomorrow!" before disappearing.

Eric glance down at his apron, examining the stripes on the dark fabric with a sigh. This was something that, even though it was needed for them to continue to live without too much worry, Eric couldn't see himself falling back into the normal world. It would be completely mundane compared to his life before. Dealing with the lunch and dinner rush was a far cry from tracking a couple of targets and 'taking care' of them, and meeting alien robots from another world.

_This is what Maya would want, _Eric told himself. He nodded to himself before walking out of the restaurant, nodding a thanks to the manager as he exited.

Eric took his time, moving around the island with a casual gait, passing by the library as he did so. His steps slowed as he passed in front, before stopping completely. In the back of his mind, something niggled, nudging him towards information that would help him. He quickly glanced down at his watch, doing some math.

He nodded before strolling into the place.

As soon as he stepped inside, Eric immediately went over to the section of the building that held all the records for the houses on the island. However, he stopped when he looked at the stack of papers.

For it being such a small island, there were a lot of information on the all of the houses that have been or ever were on the island. He managed to shuffle through some of them in about an hour, unfortunately, he had to go pick Evangeline up before he could sort through everything until he got to his house. He sighed tiredly, feeling as though he hadn't gotten a lot done. Evangeline would either tell him all about her day until dinner time or she would pass out the moment she got home.

Whatever she would be doing, Eric would be spending most of his night looking through the records until he found what he was looking for.

He managed to convince the librarian to let him check out some of the records, though she did threaten to fine him until he had to take out a second mortgage on his car if he lost or damaged any of the forms since most of them were historical documents.

Eric promised that they would be fine before walking out of the library and all but jogging towards the preschool, careful not to bounce any of the papers from the bag he carried them in.

Well, it was more like dashing at top speed, but he managed to make it before the preschool allowed pickup.

"God, I need to hit the gym." Eric huffed as he leaned up against the building in order to get catch his breath. After a moment of thought, he huffed out a laugh, almost hearing what Maya would've said.

_Looks like you're struggling there, Old Man._

He shook his head, a chuckle racking through him as he thought about how he got that nickname.

It was after an intense training session with his father and his sister. He had managed to pull something really badly, which meant he had to walk with a cane for about a month. And Maya just loved to tease him, saying that he looked like an old man, hobbling around with that thing and complaining about his legs. She had cackled for about half an hour after that before deciding that would be his nickname for the rest of their life.

Well, for the rest of _her _life.

As it turned out.

Eric took a deep breath before exhaling, turning his head as he watched the little kids start to exit the preschool. The parents arrived to meet the kids a moment later. The two sides clashed, the moms and dads swooping in to embrace their children as they ran towards them. Eric watched the scene with a small smile on his face, which grew when he spotted Evangeline.

The young girl beamed happily as she ran full speed toward him. He grunted when the young girl threw her entire weight into him, nearly knocking them both into the ground.

"Hey sweetpea!" Eric wheezed as he righted himself, setting his bouncing niece on the ground and kneeling. "How was preschool?'

"So fun! I made you a picture!" Evangeline unfolded a large piece of paper to reveal a drawing of two stick figures. Eric smiled, even though it was a rather crude drawing.

But it didn't matter to Eric.

To him, the picture was an original done by Leonardo Da Vinci, worth millions.

"It's beautiful, Evangeline."

His niece stared at him with those wide, innocent eyes. "You mean it?"

Eric smiled as he knelt. "I do. I'll hang it on the fridge if you'd like."

"Yeah!"

"Let's get home. You can tell me all about your day when we get back."

It was as they were walking when Evangeline noticed the old papers precariously balanced in her uncle's hands.

"Unule?"

"Hm?"

"What's that?" the young girl asked, pointing at the stack of papers.

"Just a little research, Evangeline." Eric answered simply, struggling to pull his key out of his pocket in order to unlock the front door. When he got the door unlocked, Evangeline didn't hesitate to run into the house.

The young girl didn't seem to bother with questioning Eric on the stack of papers anymore, as she was too busy going on and on about her day. She didn't stop until Eric told her it was time for bed. Evangeline argued about it for a little bit before she fell asleep.

Eric smirked as he planted a kiss on the young girl's head before heading towards the kitchen.

He sat down and made himself comfortable while he continued to sort through the deeds. Exhaustion weighed on him but he shook it off. Something told him that this was needed to be done.

It was nearing eleven-thirty when Eric found the deed to the house they were staying at. Most of the other documents he had with him were floor plans and maps of the area before the house was built. While that would be interesting to someone else, Eric found it mundane and boring so he pushed it to the side. He knew that he was going to feel the long night the next day, but he didn't care as he pulled out the deed out of the pile of papers.

Eric ran his finger over the words that were barely legible, the page yellowed with age, his eyes squinting as he struggled to read the words scrawled in beautiful spidery handwriting.

When he was finally able to make out the words, everything seemed to stop.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Hey, Everton!"

Eric blinked, his instincts reacting just in time to catch a rag that was tossed towards his head. He glanced over and found Jennifer watching him with a raised brow cocked, along with that frustratingly adorable smirk. Eric shook his head, forcing a smile on his face as he wiped down the counter on the bar. But he heard her footsteps coming closer and felt her questioning gaze burning into his head.

"Nice catch." He heard her chuckling. "Are you okay? You seem a little…spaced lately."

He silently cursed himself as he continued to wipe up the relatively clean counter. He thought that he was hiding his fear rather well.

_Apparently not, _he thought.

It had been about three weeks since he and his niece had arrived in Griffin Rock. Evangeline seemed to adjust rather well, making friends at preschool easily. Eric wasn't so lucky when it came to adjusting but he made it work. Being a bar tender was far from an exciting life, but it kept him on his toes and paid the bills. However, he was having difficulty making it seem like he was normal after having a metaphorical bomb shake up his world.

The deeds he had borrowed from the library had been returned but he still couldn't get the names written on the one belonging to the house he was staying at out of his mind.

A name connected so closely to Eric and his family.

It spooked him too much that even after a week it still bothered him.

And apparently, he was showing his uncomfortableness.

"Just a lot going on lately." Eric lied. Jennifer gave him a once over before shaking her head disbelievingly.

"You know, you may've been here for only one week, but you're a terrible liar."

That shocked Eric to the point of him actually stopping and turning towards the blonde. He chuckled at the ridiculous look on Jennifer's face. The man glanced around the all-too empty restaurant. There weren't too many people who came during the lunch hour, especially considering that it was a work day, so the workers were just milling around. Those that actually had people in their section were taking things slow.

"Hey." Jennifer nudged his shoulder, again pulling him out of his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, just…..." Eric shook his head, leaning on the counter. "I did some research a couple days ago on Crestwood."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

"Find anything interesting?" Jennifer asked. "Like a possible murderer that hid the body in the closet?"

Eric blinked in shock.

"Sorry. It's something of a weird dream of mine."

"You got the weird part right." Eric muttered. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "No, I didn't find that. I did find that the person that built the house was one of my ancestors."

"Wow…. really? That's so cool!"

_It would be if my ancestor wasn't apart of the very thing I was trying to get away from, _Eric thought with some sadness and a lot of frustration.

It seemed he would never get free of the Assassins.

Jennifer raised an eyebrow at his silence and, even more, his frustrated expression. She elbowed him again, this time while he was cleaning out a glass.

"Cheer up, Mr. I-Like-To-Brood. We're almost done with our shift and, if you're free, we can go and get some lunch, on me."

That pulled a genuine smile from Eric. "I'd like that."

Several minutes later, after the two had clocked out, they mingled outside the restaurant, trying to decide what they would do for lunch.

"I'm kinda in the mood for a pizza." Jennifer commented as they started to walk.

"Same." An idea came to Eric as he examined his watch. "I have a couple of movies we could watch. If you order the pizza, I'll get the popcorn."

"Watch a movie in the middle of the day?" Jennifer asked before shrugging. "I'm down. But what about Evangeline?"

"She won't be back until after supper. Playdate with a couple of friends."

"Sweet. I hope you have something gory."

Eric chuckled.

The two kept a relaxed pace as they walked in the direction of Crestwood. They were about halfway there when the sirens caused them both to freeze. Eric swiveled his head around in order to spot where the sirens were coming from. He glanced over at Jennifer, who was doing the same thing that he was doing. The woman's eyes went wide as she pointed in the distance, where the flashing lights and the sirens were growing louder.

"THERE!" She shouted. "The Rescue Team!"

"The Rescue Team?" Eric asked with a quirk of an eyebrow. He had heard about the Burns family of heroes (as the town referred to them), but had yet to see them in action. Though they were racing towards an emergency, Eric quickly grabbed Jennifer's wrist and ran. He ran as fast as dragging someone behind him as he could, ignoring the woman's strangled protests.

For a moment, Eric felt a rush of excitement that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Of course, that excitement went to his feet when he realized the direction they were heading in. He screeched to a halt, causing Jennifer to crash into him. But he didn't feel it nor did he hear the startled cry of surprise from his companion.

All he felt was the blood rushing out of his face and his heart dropping straight to his feet.

"Oh no." he whispered.

"Eric? What's wrong? Are you….."

"The preschool."

Jennifer suddenly realized what he had come to realize only a moment ago. Her strangled gasp of shock couldn't be heard by Eric as he, not bothering with his coworker, took off as fast as he could. The only thing that he heard was his beating heart in his ears as thoughts concerning his precious niece ran through his mind as fast as his feet flew.

_Please let her be okay. Please let her be okay. Please let her be okay, _he pleaded to whoever was listening.

Eric was hardly breathing hard when he approached the preschool, which much to his shock and fear, was up in flames. There was a crowd that had gathered, but the police chief was keeping them back while the other members of the rescue team worked. If Eric wasn't worried about his niece and focused on the rescue, he would've been impressed by the practiced ease and smoothness in which the team was able to work.

The helicopter flew back and forth in the sky, bringing some water from the dam that wasn't too far from the preschool while the bulldozer created a fire break. The redheaded firefighter was spraying the water on the growing flames as the police chief kept the crowd back.

But he was too busy scanning the crowd.

There was a certain relief that swept over him when he spotted Mrs. Rubio with a group of kids.

Shoving his way through, he shouted for the woman as she checked over the kids in her car. When she glanced up, Eric noticed something…. off. There was a guilt that glittered in her eyes as he approached, taking note of all the children around her.

"Where's Evangeline?" He demanded, panic once again creeping over him.

Mrs. Rubio glanced away; her soot covered face showing her tears that fell. Fear, almost like clawed fingers snaking through him, as he glanced back at the burning building.

"No…" he whispered. His stomach did a flip and he almost pitched forward to deposit his breakfast on the ground. Eric didn't realize he was stumbling forward until he crashed into Chief Burns, who pushed him back in surprise.

"Stand back!" the older man ordered.

"E-Evangeline…...s-she's in there! She's still in there!" Eric shouted. He struggled to push back against the surprisingly strong man. "_My niece is still in there!" _

"UNULE!"

"Evangeline!" Eric shouted as he swiveled around until he spotted his niece in the window of the second floor. He pushed past the man while he was distracted before dashing forward into the building.

Almost as soon as he passed over the threshold, the air was sucked out of his lungs as the heat of the flames licked at him. Eric needed to pause for a moment to cough at the sudden change in the atmosphere, before he gathered his senses and glanced around him. The smoke made things hard to see and even with the thunderous crackle of the flames in his ears, he could easily hear his nieces terrified screams.

"UNULE! HELP ME!"

"Evangeline," Eric called, coughing at the large amount of smoke that entered his lungs at the intake. "I'm coming! Just stay where you are!"

There wasn't a single moment of hesitation as he dashed through the flames and heading straight for his niece. He would call out occasionally, and whenever she would answer, relief swept through him as he continued to dodge the debris falling around him.

An eternity seemed to pass until he was where he could clearly hear Evangeline's strangled cough. He spotted her near a cluster of desks, the only place where the flames had yet to reach with full force.

"Evangeline…." He whispered. He could feel the effects of the smoke on his lungs. It was getting more and more difficult to breath and the room seemed to tilt dangerously to the side, but Eric shook his head to clear it of the fog that threatened to take hold.

He needed to get his niece out of here.

_Now!_

Eric moved forward, gesturing for his niece to come to him. He coughed before ordering softly, "Everything's going to be okay, sweetheart. Come on. Quickly!"

The young girl blinked up at him before grabbing his outstretched hand. Almost as soon as their skin connected, Eric closed his hand around Evangeline's and gently, yet quickly, pulled the young girl out and turned. He made to turn, to run as fast as he could out of the burning building with his niece clutched closely to his chest, but it seemed the world just didn't want to stay normal.

His chest ached for fresh air as he collapsed, the smoke and heat continuing to choke him.

"Unule…..." Evangeline's plea was followed by a cough, but she seemed to be a little better than himself. The world around him seemed to blur, Evangeline's face morphing into a face that seemed so heartbreakingly familiar.

"Evangeline…..'" Eric rasped, barely holding on to consciousness. Tears stung his eyes as he watched Evangeline's young, innocent face morph into one hardened by years of battle but still holding that mischievous glint in that was hidden in those steel grey eyes. "Maya…"

"Over here!" a voice call.

One moment, Eric was on his back, holding Evangeline close to his chest as waited for the darkness of unconsciousness, the next he and his niece was embraced in a large metal hand. The world turned upside down at a dizzyingly pace, one that threatened to cause him to purge his breakfast. Eric managed not to throw up on whatever was carrying him and his niece to safety.

The being that held him and his niece cupped them closely to their chest, carrying them through the flames.

Eric's lungs felt like they were about to burst when they exited the burning building and into the clear air of the outside.

He coughed harshly as he was gently lowered to the ground, his niece still clinging to him like she used to do when she was younger.

He coughed until a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder. Eric glanced upward, blinking through the tears that had gathered in his eyes to see a young woman with short brown hair and kind brown eyes. Without a word, the woman pressed an oxygen mask against his face. Eric didn't fight it but he did glance over at Evangeline who was getting the same treatment. The young girl did fight it though, at least until Eric reached over and clutched her hand.

She stopped fighting the oxygen she was receiving from a sandy-haired young man with glasses.

When Eric's lungs were cleared enough and his mind was able to slow down, he glanced around. The flames had died down a little, but what really caught his attention was the towering form of a red robot.

A red robot with the insignia of an Autobot.

Eric felt his vision tunnel and blur for a moment as fear retook its hold on him. But instead of fear about his niece burning alive in a building, it was fear about being again caught in the middle of a fight that was older than even the fight between the Assassins and Templars.

He didn't know he was hyperventilating until he found himself laying on his back, staring up at the sky with darkness bleeding through his vision.

The last thing that he saw before darkness took hold was the family of heroes staring over him worryingly.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

Eric woke up to the sound of the annoying beeping sound of a heart-rate machine.

His body seemed to move sluggishly, and his throat was much too sore. His eyes open up only to close in shock at the all-too bright lights of the hospital.

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

The soft voice was enough to draw his eyes open and turn his head to see a petite brunette nurse standing over him. In her hand, she held a clipboard, most likely with his information.

Eric opened his mouth to ask where he was when he realized that there was an oxygen mask over his face. He made to remove it, but his hand was gently swatted away.

"None of that now." The nurse ordered. "You gave the rescue team quite the scare, sir."

"My niece," he rasped. "Where…...?"

"I'll go and get her. You say here."

Eric nodded and laid back, watching the nurse walk out. He took a deep, relaxing breath as he thought back to what happened before passing out. The only thing that he could remember clearly was staring up at the giant rescue bot that had pulled him and his niece out of the flames. He remembered all too clearly the insignia of the Autobots displayed on its chest.

He had hoped when he left Jasper in the dead of night three years ago, he had left the Autobots and, more importantly the war that was far older than the Assassins, behind him. The last thing he wanted to do was put a target on his niece's back and draw attention from the Decepticons.

Of course, the fact that he didn't know how the Autobot's conflict was continuing, but he couldn't be too careful.

Eric dispelled the thoughts of what might happen if the Autobots indeed had a base on the island as the door opened and his niece and Jennifer entered, followed by Chief Burns and the nurse.

"Unule!" Evangeline shouted happily. Jennifer picked the young girl up and placed her on the bed, right next to him. He chuckled as the young girl embraced him, trying to wrap her small arms around his broad chest. The nurse removed the oxygen mask, allowing him to speak but with a still raspy voice.

"Hey Evangeline. How are you feeling?"

"Good!" Evangeline's bright face faded as she looked at him through heavily-lidded eyes. "What 'bout you?"

Eric smiled, placing a comforting hand on his niece's back. "I'm fine, Evangeline."

He glanced up at the police chief and the doctor before glancing towards Jennifer.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"About two hours." The nurse answered. She lifted her clipboard, reading something before glancing down at Eric with a scolding look that had him wilting a little bit. "That was a dangerous thing to do! Running back into a fire!"

"With all due respect nurse," Eric bit back with a little more venom than he intended, "but my niece was in danger."

"Still, you should've let Chief Burns and his family handle it." The nurse reminded him a bit of his mother while scolding him. "They would've gotten their robots in and out of there without anyone getting hurt."

Chief Burns placed a calming hand on the nurse's shoulder, thankfully saving the man from the heat of her tirade. The petite brunette sighed as she shook her head, dispelling her temper and resuming the professional air that she was supposed to have.

"Regardless of how rash your actions were, your body seems to be handling the smoke inhalation well. You can be released from here in a couple of days after we take some tests. Though I suggest you have someone with you at your house to monitor your health." Her eyes drifted to Evangeline. "Well, someone other than a five-year-old."

Evangeline giggled.

"I can stay with them, Susan." Jennifer spoke up.

"Okay, then." The nurse, Susan, wrote something on her clipboard before turning to leave. When she had closed the door, there was silence before the police chief turned towards Eric.

"That was a very brave thing to do, Mr. Everton." Chief Burns said. Eric nodded.

"Evangeline, she's the only family I have left." Eric glanced towards the young girl, who had quickly lost interest in the conversation and started to doodle on a spare piece of paper given to her by Jennifer. "I…. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her sir."

"Well, just leave the rescues to us, and we won't have any trouble." Chief Burns said. Eric, smiling despite himself, nodded and chuckled softly. Chief Burns glanced around at the two adults and small child, a light dancing in his eyes. His eyes caught Jennifer's gaze and held it. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Of course, Chief." Jennifer said as the man walked out. When the door was once again shut, she turned towards him.

Eric sighed as he said, "I assume you're gonna tell me off now, too?"

The chastising look faded and the woman chuckled. "No. I was going to congratulate you on being stupid enough to have rushed into a burning building, nearly die as a result and still be on Chief Burns' good side."

"Does he really have that bad of a temper?"

"Nah. He's just protective of the townsfolk."

Eric's brow furrowed. "But I've only been here for a week."

Jennifer waved her hand as she struggled to keep Evangeline from falling off the bed. "Doesn't matter if you've been for less than twenty-four hours. Chief Burns looks after _everyone _on the island. It has to do with the fact that his ancestor vowed to protect the island, or something like that."

"Does this have anything to do with the statue that's in the middle of town?" Eric asked.

"Yep. That statue is of Horace Burns, who came with the first settlement from England." Her voice dropped low as she continued, "It's rumored that he married a pirate later on."

Eric cocked an eyebrow. "Really? That's interesting."

"Yeah." Jennifer sighed as she sat on the bed. "The Burns family has been protecting the island for as long as they have been here."

Eric's brow furrowed as he remembered the robots. Jennifer noticed the troubled expression on his face, something that had been a common thing with the mysterious mainlander.

"What?"

"Those robots…where did they come from?"

"The government gave us those to test about a year and a half or so ago. This _is_ a high-tech testing ground after all." The blonde gave him a raised eyebrow. "Why'd you ask?"

"No reason." Eric answered lowly. In his mind, he was forming a plan.

A plan to not only confirm his suspicion, but to hopefully gain some answers.

He turned his attention to his niece, who had was using his leg as a pillow. Eric smiled as he watched his niece's deep and even breathing.

But maybe that could wait until he was better.

"So, let me ask you something, Mr. Everton." Jennifer's voice drew him out his thoughts.

"Of course, Ms. Wolcroft." Eric replied with a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Why is it that you've never been married?"

He was thrown off the question that it took him a moment to process that it had been asked. But once that it had been processed was had been asked, all Eric could do was stare with his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"I'm sorry?" Eric squeaked when he found his voice.

Jennifer's face exploded in a blush, her hand going to her mouth and her stark blue eyes going wide. It seemed she was shocked by her own question.

It caused some of the shock to wear off on Eric. A small smile appeared on his face despite the shock that was still there.

"I…...I beg your pardon," Jennifer stuttered. "I didn't mean to ask that question. I-it's far too personal. You don't have to answer that, if you don't want to that is."

Eric chuckled despite himself, waving at the young woman assuredly. "It's fine. You just surprised me, is all."

Jennifer sat down, stiffly and her face was still far too red with embarrassment. Her wide eyes blinked, staring down at him with her jaw set.

"I was engaged once. A long time ago." Eric answered, bringing his niece to rest comfortably on his chest. The young girl wasn't disturbed at all from her slumber. Instead, she shifted in her sleep, getting into a better position before falling deeper.

"Oh?"

Eric nodded his head. "It wasn't the _best _relationship I had been in, but at the time of engagement, it seemed like the right thing to do. We had known each other for only a couple of years before I proposed."

"You must've loved each other very much to have gotten engaged that quickly." Jennifer said, and Eric raised an eyebrow when he thought he detected a hint of sadness.

Eric chuckled at the statement. "I loved her. However, the love wasn't quite returned."

He smiled a bit ruefully to himself.

"True, she was a very beautiful woman, but inside she was the ugliest person I have ever met." Eric shook his head. "I was still young and naïve, so I ignored the ugliness that she showed early on in our relationship. She was snobby, and severely insulted my family with every breath that she took. That is something I do not take lightly. But even still, I loved her. In fact…..."

Eric trailed off when he realized what part of the story he had gotten to. He quickly tried to find a way to phrase his next thoughts without giving away the Assassins. Eric didn't need this smart-mouthed, wonderful woman getting caught up in his past.

"'In fact' what?"

The dark-haired man sighed as he quickly figured out how to state his next words without revealing too much. "My sister, parents and some old friends warned me that my fiancée wanted nothing more than my, uh, money. I had saved up a lot over the course of my adult life. It was enough that I could've been considered a millionaire but I decided that living with frugality was the best way to live."

"That's a good point."

Eric nodded his thanks before continuing. "My fiancée found out about the money that I had saved up, and started to take life insurance policies out on me."

Jennifer winced. "Oh, red flag."

"You would think. But I thought…...I thought she was just doing that so that she could be taken care of if something happened to me. It took about three more months, with only a month and change before the wedding, to realize that something was up with my 'beloved'."

"And what exactly was?"

"Uh, she tried to stab me in my sleep." Eric muttered with his head lowered. He didn't have to look up to notice the shocked look on Jennifer's face.

The former Assassin had seen enough times in those who had heard the stories to know that was the only way to respond to such a statement. He felt himself blush with shame, remembering that late night when he awoke to a change in the air. It was a subtle shift, but Eric had been exposed enough times while he slept to not sense when there has been a change. He remembered the heart stopping moment when he jerked his eyes opened to find the blade of a knife poised over his heart.

That moment vanished like a fog in the breeze as the knife came down.

Instinct had pumped through him. His lightning fast reflexes were the only thing that saved him from getting killed. It hurt when he realized that the attacker wasn't some hitman that had snuck in to kill him, but his own fiancée, staring down at him with such intense hatred it tore his heart in half.

He managed to kill her, as quickly and painlessly as possible, but not before she wounded his heart.

Cheesy, I know, but that's how he felt that moment he stared down at the woman he once loved.

"So, what'd you do next?"

Eric inwardly winced, knowing that he had to lie to the woman who had been listening, rather closely, to the tale. He found himself enjoying the wide-eyed look on the woman's face.

Found himself loving the way her sky-blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

It made him feel…. happy.

"I, uh, called the police and she was arrested." Eric lied smoothly with a shrug.

"Aw, such an anticlimactic ending." Jennifer booed. But the smirk on her lips was a far cry from her announced feelings. "I hope that bitch gets the chair."

"Whoa. Harsh." Eric muttered.

Jennifer shrugged. "It's true. I mean, if she succeeded, I wouldn't have the opportunity to meet yo-uh, your wonderful niece."

Eric raised his brow at the almost-slip but he let it go. He snuggled underneath the covers, feeling comfortable with the weight of his niece on his chest. It reminded him much of when they had first gone on the road together. The then-two-year-old would snuggle up against him, no matter where she had been put to sleep. It didn't matter if they were sleeping on a pallet on the floor and she was across the room, by morning, she would always end up snuggling close to him.

"I'll come and get you when you get discharged in a couple of days." Jennifer whispered as she stood.

"You don't have to do that. Really." Eric assured her.

But she just waved him off. "It's fine really. Besides, Evangeline is gonna need someone to watch her while you're here."

"I….." He cleared his throat. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"No problem. What are friends for if not to help out?"

Eric nodded in agreement, as Jennifer gently picked up his niece from where she was clinging to him. He watched as they left before he glanced outside the darkening window. He shook his head as he reclined on the bed, not all that sure about


	9. Chapter 8

Interlude 1: Chief Burns

Chief Burns sighed heavily as he entered his vehicle. Of course, his vehicle wasn't like others, as it was really an alien robot that could transform into a vehicle.

So, it didn't shock or surprise him when a voice, monotone yet clear, echoed through the speakers, "Chief? Are you functioning properly?"

Chief smiled as he turned to the screen as the face of his partner, an Autobot police bot named Chase, appeared. "Everything's fine, Chase."

"How was the human?"

"He's doing fine, partner. Just got a lot of healing to do."

Chase nodded before backing out of the parking lot of the hospital and heading towards the Firehouse. The drive was quiet, with both police officers deep in thought.

Chief Burns thought, racking his brain in order to try and figure out if he had met Mr. Eric Everton before. As police chief, he made sure he knew all those that came to the island, whether they be permanent residence or just visiting. But for some reason, he never had a real introduction for the younger man.

Well, there was that one time he saved his niece, but other than that, there wasn't a lot that he had seen of the younger man.

The town that he had worked to keep safe passed by the window, the sun having now set and the moon had risen. Chief Burns was a little bit thankful that his oldest son, Kade, was doing monitor duty tonight. It had been a long day, as emergencies had popped up almost everywhere on the island. Strange environmental emergencies, like landslides, small tremors, huge tidal waves and, at midday, fires popping up all over the island without any clear cause. It was only after the Preschool Fire was put out did things start to slow down a bit.

They stopped completely just after the sun started to set, when Mr. Everton had just arrived at the hospital.

"Sir? Is everything alright?" Chase's voice permeated his thoughts and suddenly, Chief found himself staring at the inside of his garage. He blushed, embarrassed by the fact that he had been that lost in his thoughts so much that he blanked for most of the drive. When he had exited his vehicle and was a safe distance away, there was the sound of shifting metal and turning gears. The police chief didn't turn back as Chase shifted out of his vehicle mode and stood at his full height in his bi-pedal form. The police car stretched his joints for a moment before lumbering over to the lever that activated the platform that dropped down into the hidden bunker.

After a moment of thought, Chief Burns quickly joined his partner on the platform right as it started to move. He could see if his children were down here before he went to make himself a late supper then heading to bed.

As the two passed down into the underground bunker, Charlie was happy to see all his kids were safe. He worried about them too much, but he figured that was probably because he was just being a father.

His oldest Kade was the only one missing from the group that mingled in the space that was hidden away from the prying eyes of the islanders. His second oldest, Graham, was at his makeshift desk, going over the readings collected by the island's residential chief scientist, Doctor Greene. The two geniuses were too busy pouring over the readings that they didn't see the chief's arrival. His only daughter, Dani, and youngest son, Cody, were sitting on the couch watching a race on television.

The rest of the rescue bots were mingling around as well, though they were trying to relax without bothering the humans too much, especially Graham and Doctor Greene.

That, of course, didn't work with how big the Cybertronians were, but at least they tried.

Heatwave was training with the newly reinstalled wooden post that he kept breaking due to the ferocity of the punches he threw, sometimes in frustration. Thankfully, they hadn't had a too frustrating jobs recently that would've caused Heatwave to break the wooden post. That, and the town's folks were starting to see them more than just mindless machines.

Chase had immediately gone to the bookshelf that lined a couple of the walls in the Underground Bunker to read up on the new police codes that arrived from the mainland. Even Chief Burns dreaded reading the updated codes, but Chase seemed to thrive off it.

Boulder was helping Doctor Green and Graham, looming over them or reading a book on seismic activity. It seemed that they, even with the help of the dark green Cybertronian, weren't making progress with their investigation.

The seemingly-youngest of the Cybertronian group, Blades, was with Dani and Cody over by the television. The helicopter bot was putting his input in about the race, much to the chagrin of Dani.

All in all, it was a typical evening for the Burns family.

Except for the tenseness that hung in the air. Even for those that seemed to be relaxing, Charlie noticed that Dani was twirling her hair absently, a sign that she was stressed but she was trying to hide it.

Being a family of first responders was a stressful job. They all knew that, but being a first responder on Griffin Rock, an island prone to misfortune mostly of the technological type on a near daily basis, added even to more stress.

Now that there were issues that were happening all over the island that suggested a possible world-ending situation (again), Charlie figured that with all the issues they were having now, they could all use the downtime.

Except, unfortunately, the resident geniuses.

Charlie turned towards Heatwave as he grunted, punching the pole harder. "Chief."

The police chief nodded in greeting before shuffling over to where his engineer son was fretting over some readings. "How's it going, you three?"

"Oh, Chief I didn't hear you come in." Doc Greene stated sheepishly. "We have found that the readings are- how shall I put it?- out of the ordinary."

Before Chief Burns could ask what that meant and quipping about how he didn't expect them to be anything ordinary on this island, Graham thankfully took up the explanation. "Normal tectonic readings have a certain look to them. But these," he sighed frustratingly, running a hand through his hair as he stared at the readings, "These are _far _from normal."

"What does that mean?"

Chief Burns wasn't surprised had drawn the attention of everyone in the bunker. He wasn't surprised that they had all gathered around in a loose circle to better hear the two. And he wasn't surprised that it was Dani who asked that question.

"It means," Graham said in response, "that whatever is causing the tremors, they aren't apart normal fault lines. It's an outside force."

Chief Burns glanced up at the Cybertronians. "Is it possible that it could a Cybertronian relic?"

The four of them exchanged glances before Heatwave spoke, "If it is, it isn't one that we've heard about."

"However, we should contact Optimus Prime to get his input." Chase suggested.

"Get on that," Chief ordered, trying not to sound too harsh. "We need to get this situation solved now before it spirals out of control."

"And by 'out of control' you mean before the island breaks apart and falls into the sea." Dani deadpanned.

Cody, having seen the tension setting in as the conversation continued, spoke up. "How about we watch a movie? There's this really cool one about an ancient order of warriors that are fighting a secret war!"

Chief's answer was cut off by Blades' excited squealing. "Oh! I've been wanting to see it that movie since it came out!"

The mood lifted suddenly but as the group gravitated towards the television, Chief Burns stopped Heatwave.

"I need you to get in contact with Optimus as soon as possible. See if there are any artefacts that does this kind of thing."

The firebot nodded and, breaking off from the group, lumbered towards the hidden communications center. Chief Burns sighed as he sat down with most of his family, a small smile playing on his face.

As the opening credits to the movie appeared, all thoughts of the strange Eric Everton disappeared from his mind.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

As expected, the Griffin Rock Hospital released Eric the next day around midday.

He was given antibiotics for his lungs and was told to take it easy for the next few days. Since Jennifer was in the middle of her shift that day, Eric was picked up by Chief Charlie Burns and his police vehicle.

Eric tried not to show that driving in the sentient police cruiser unnerved him as they drove down the road towards Crestwood.

"So…. your cars can turn into robots." Eric muttered, trying to make conversation. Unfortunately, it came out...a bit awkwardly. "That's cool. Did the local scientist come up with it or….?"

"Nah. On loan from the national government. Griffin Rock's been known as a testing ground for, well, for about as long as there's been a settlement."

Eric gave a chuckle. His eyes darted out to the people that milled about. People that didn't have to be anywhere or had the day off.

"So, uh, I've heard there's a lot of strange things going on around the island." He said. During his overnight stay, when the nurses had thought he was asleep, he overheard some of them talking about how Griffin Rock was getting stranger and stranger by the day with all these strange events.

Fires that happened without explanation, earthquakes on an island that wasn't even near a fault line, tsunamis popping up out of nowhere, sinkholes….

All these suggested that something was up, something that Eric felt wasn't any natural reason or cause for.

He would need to go over certain documents, but he was pretty sure that there was going to be a connection with the Isu, the Assassins and the island of Griffin Rock.

And that thought truly worried him.

All those years, on the road, looking over his shoulder worried about an attempt on his life were going to be all for naught if the Templars get interested in the island. And of course, the only way they were going to be interested, was if there was something that connected to the Isu. There would be no hiding from the wave of people who would come and search the island for the reason for the phenomenon. Of course, there was always a chance that these events weren't being caused by a Piece of Eden or an Observatory, and it was just a cluster of strange natural occurrences that would go away in a couple of weeks. But….

Eric didn't need to take chances with his niece and the good people of the island.

He was going to have to find a way to figure out what was going on.

"Mr. Everton?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry Chief." Eric said, jerking himself back to reality. "Got lost in thought."

"That's alright." The older man assured. "Get that all the time. But don't worry about it. We'll take care of it."

Eric nodded, knowing very well that he wouldn't leave well enough alone as he was supposed to.

Being an Assassin meant he put himself in the path of the Templars for others. He would fling himself from the shadows, exposing the Assassins and the Templars secret war to everyone if it meant that his niece wouldn't get hurt.

He glanced up, seeing that he was in front of the Crestwood. Eric gave Chief Burns a tight smile before walking towards the front porch with purpose. Evangeline was going to be with someone who would watch over her for a couple of days until Eric managed to find his full strength again, so he was free to work in full silence.

But the house felt empty.

After having Evangeline so close for so long, the big house was far too silent. Eric chuckled to himself.

"How did I ever survive when I lived in New York?" He quietly asked himself. He took a deep breath, his hurt lungs constricting the movements. What he needed to do was sift through the information left behind by Cordelia Williams, and see if something like this had happened before and if, by any chance (_dear Lord, let there be a chance_), there was anything that could be done.

Eric quickly brewed himself a large pot of coffee and cooked himself a good portioned sized lunch before getting down to reading through the documents.

The retired Assassin found that his ancestor wrote a lot. It was bizarre, seeing how many Assassins were too busy tracking down their targets especially in that time. But Cordelia….

Eric sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. The earliest written document that he could find was about five years before the Revolutionary War broke out, but Cordelia wrote every day. Most of the time, it was mostly mundane stuff.

What she had for breakfast, what she had planned for that day, the weather, etc.

But every so often, Eric found those gems about her Assassin jobs, most of them starting at the beginning of the Revolutionary War and onward, ending when she left the Brotherhood.

Regardless, Eric still had to read through all the documents just so he didn't miss anything. And there was a lot. By the time he made it through the first half of the journals, his eyes were burning, and his head was pounding. The coffee had gone cold, the sun had set, and his stomach demanded food.

There was too much he still had to do. Eric wished that he could just ask his ancestor what happened. That would make things so much easier.

But no. Cordelia had disappeared when she was in her early sixties, right at the turn of the century.

There was no telling where she went. Everyone thought she was kidnapped, or wandered into the woods, leaving no trace of her location or where she was going.

Her children and the locals had searched every inch of the island, finding nothing.

Eric sighed. Even when it seemed that life was going to give him a helping hand, it yeets it back without a thought. Deciding that he needed to take a break and maybe check the basement for something, he stood, standing slowly as a small wave of dizziness washed over him.

He glanced outside. The moon shone brightly in the sky, but like always, Eric moved away form the beautiful and into the dark and ugly.

Unlike the rest of the house, which had been updated to modern standards, the basement was the same as it had been when it was built. Brick walls, (thankfully updated) beams supporting the ceiling, aka the rest of the house, and a fireplace jutting out form the wall.

But between him and the other side of the room where someone had a table set up with a bunch of journals stacked high were a bunch of boxes no one bothered to move out of the house. Most of this junk looked like antiques, probably from the when Cordelia's immediate family lived in the house. Eric didn't need it with him, he still needed to be mobile and carrying around these types of items would slow him down, but he didn't need to worry about it now.

Maybe he would talk to the woman he rented the house from and organize a yard sale or something.

Carefully stepping over the boxes and items strewn in different directions Eric made his way towards the table. He hit something covered in a sheet, something metal by the way the sound reverberated through the basement.

"Son of a b-"

On instinct he stopped himself, and just went to silently fuming about the pain. When the pain subsided to a dull throb, Eric quickly uncovered the source of the offending thing. Much to his surprise, it was a motorcycle, a little bit rusted but still in good condition. Eric examined it before placing the tarp on the ground, leaving the motorcycle uncovered so he knew where it was.

He had a feeling that he would need it later.

After a moment of examining the motorcycle, he turned towards the table. He still had a lot to go through in so little time.

He didn't have a time to dawdle over the junk.

Almost the minute he reached the table, Eric turned the chair around, straddled it and opened the first journal.

The third sentence was as far as he got before he fell asleep.

He didn't know when he dozed off, all he knew that he woke up when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing razor straight. Sleep slid right off him, and he whirled around, brandishing the heaviest thing he could reach for blindly, that item being the journal he was reading. There were no signs that there was someone with him, but his hardened instincts told him that there was _definitely _someone there.

"Show yourself." Eric demanded into the air. Nothing moved, but the air shifted. It felt like a presence had moved, shifted slightly to where he wasn't feeling as ill at ease as the previous second, but it still felt…. unreal. "I mean it. You don't scare me."

"_You need to listen to me Connor."_

Eric's ears pricked upwards at the voice. It sounded like an old woman, arguing with someone.

"Hello?"

"_There needs to be peace between the Assassins and the Templars."_

"_No. There cannot ever be peace."_

"_I know that Achilles told you that you need to wipe out the Templars, but aren't you tired of fighting? Aren't being weighed by the blood on your hands?"_

The voices faded out. Eric shivered as goosebumps pickled his skin.

So, he had finally lost it. Hearing voices that shouldn't be there.

Something behind him shifted. On instincts, he swung the book, only meeting air. He was surprised when he came face to face with a wall.

A wall that….

Eric cocked his head, noticing that there was a barely seen mechanism. It was well hidden, camouflaged to the point of obscurity. Out of curiosity, Eric dropped his sight, tapping into his Eagle Vision. It felt strange, using the power that so many Assassins have after so many years, but he shook off his shock and focused.

His heart stopped.

Behind the seemingly immovable brick wall, there was a room. Seemingly a spacious room that was filled with items that Eric was unable to tell what they were through the Vision. He dropped his eyes down to the wall, dialing back the intensity of the Vision to search for the lever. A smile tugged at his lips as he reached for it. He dropped the Eagle Vision as, the moment he touched the mechanism, there was the sound of gears clicking and turning. The wall swung open.

"Whoa…" Eric muttered as he stepped into the hidden room. He backtracked a moment, his still damaged lungs not taking too kindly in breathing in dust that had been hanging around for who-knows-how-long.

Once his coughing fit was over, Eric stepped into the room. There was something…interesting stepping over the threshold and into a planning room that belonged to his ancestor. Portraits of long-since-dead men were tacked onto the far wall, all of them having red 'x's over them. There was a table pushed into the other wall, littered with pieces of parchment with frantic, almost illegible handwriting all over it. It was a far cry from the neat, pretty handwriting that was scrawled in most of the letters and journals.

"What do we have here?" Eric asked himself as he leaned over the table and started to examine the papers. His brow furrowed as he scanned over the first sheet of paper that was laying on top.

A victorious smile pulled at his lips, this time bigger and better than before.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

But as he read paper after paper, he started to get…. not worried but not exactly frantic either. Eric found himself on the border of these two emotions, especially when he started to shuffle through the others. His heart all but stopped when he spotted one with a rough sketch of what looked like the island, except it showed what looked like a hollowed underground right below water level…...

"Oh shit."

There was a secret, underground Isu Observatory underneath Griffin Rock.

Eric's heart dropped into his feet. His breath caught in his chest, and he was pretty sure that his fingers stopped working. The piece of parchment he was holding fluttered to the floor. Everything seemed to tilt a little bit, knocking Eric over to the wall. But not to the floor, thankfully.

He would need to find a way to get to the Griffin Rock Laboratory, all thoughts of giant robot aliens out of his mind.

But he did pray that if the Rescue Bots had contacted Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots wouldn't be so stupid to bring the Apple he left at Omega Outpost here. If that artefact was brought to Griffin Rock, if it connected with the Observatory…

He shuddered, not wanting to think about the implications that it would have for the island.

His eyes dropped to the rough sketches of the Observatory, his brow furrowing.

"What were you up to?"

Maybe his great-a-hundred-times grandmother had figured out what was going on. And maybe, just maybe, she had left a trail of breadcrumbs for him.

"Okay, Cordelia." He muttered, nodding to himself. "Let's see what you found."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 

The more and more Eric dug through the documents, the more frightened and more worried he got.

From what Eric was able to gather, it seemed that arriving on the island shortly after the War of Independence, Cordelia knew that something was off with the island. Within about a year, the strangeness continues to escalate, until Cordelia couldn't sit idly by and decided to temporarily to don her robes again to help out.

That was where the journal entries ended.

The rest of them were a list of theories and plans, most of them well thought out. Of course, there wasn't many of them.

The last entry was a single piece of parchment, dated 'June 13th, 1799'.

The last day Cordelia was ever seen or heard from again.

It only had a paragraph of words, each word looking like it was scrawled in haste. Eric read the entry, biting the inside of his lip in worry as he read. When he was finished, he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in exhaustion.

"I know I promised not to get involved, Maya," He whispered to the empty air. "I know you didn't want Evangeline getting involved in the Assassins. But I can't just ignore what is going on in Griffin Rock. There are innocents here, Sis. I know you wouldn't want to me to leave them to their fate."

Silence was his only answer. Eric didn't really believe in an afterlife, but he did hope that his sister was listening, wherever she was.

"Okay." He muttered. The man took a moment to blink the tears out of his eyes and gather himself. Mentally pulling up the walls that he had let down for three years, Eric stood, his gaze lingering on the portraits of the dead men that his ancestor had killed.

There was no telling if some of the lower level men were used as pawns in the Templars' game, or if they were in it for the glory and the money. Maybe, hopefully, they were just doing what they thought they could do to help their families.

And, just because they were associated with the Templars, they became targets.

The same went for the Assassins, unfortunately. Anyone even remotely connected with the Order or Brotherhood would be targeted and eliminated with extreme prejudice.

"I hope this'll work," Eric muttered as he moved out of the room. He closed the secret door and made sure to seal it so that Evangeline wouldn't accidentally open it if she chanced to wander down to the basement when Eric wasn't looking.

As Eric started back towards the stairs, his eyes lingered on the bike. It seemed in perfect condition and, in the case of which he would need a quick getaway, the best thing.

He knew that it would be impossible to outrun vehicles that could transform into alien robots unless he had something that would help him get away quicker.

He sighed heavily through his nose, examining the motorcycle. Off hand, he could see that there were a couple of things that needed a tune-up, and he needed to wipe the rust that managed to accumulate over the years of storage.

But Eric figured the bike would be in good shape.

The three years of inactivity had ended.

It was time to get back to work.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

**Excerpt from the last known entry from the diary of Cordelia Abigail (Williams) Everts-June 13****th****, 1799**

** I came to the island of Griffin Rock, Maine to leave behind the violence of the war between the Assassins and the Templars. My dear friend, the current Mentor of the American Brotherhood, Connor Kenway, has been adamant for my return to the Brotherhood of Assassins for years as an instructor. However, I have declined each time. Unfortunately, I have found myself, despite my best efforts in a situation that might determine the fate of the island. Strange occurrences, such as earthquakes, tidal waves and rock slides, has had the island on full-alert. I have been doing some unofficial investigations on the island of Griffin Rock, and have discovered that a First Civilization Observatory, though not scientific in design, buried underneath the town, although, now, I have found that the island was built on top of the Observatory. I have no idea how this mission will turn out, but I highly suspect that I will return and continue to live my life in peace. **

** No one will have to know about this and I could burn this entry. **

**Sincerely, Cordelia Abigail Everts**


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Night had fallen on Griffin Rock, brining a sense of peace and security.

It had been about two days since the last rock slide, and everyone on the island were holding their breath.

But, for now, they relaxed, hoping that they had seen the last incident.

A figure, dressed in black and hidden in the shadows, knew that the peace wouldn't last. He was on a mission, to protect the people and his niece from what they didn't know and what would seriously hurt them.

Eric knew that this mission would unearth something that quite possibly could draw the Templar's attention to them. Everything he did from that point forward would have to be done extremely carefully. Despite his nervousness, Eric felt a surge of excitement as he planned out the 'heist'. It was an excitement that he hadn't felt in near about three years.

He had all but healed up less than a week and had gone back to work. When he wasn't working, and his niece was fast asleep, Eric spent a good portion of the night studying the layout of the Griffin Rock Laboratory. The blueprints he managed to find in the library seemed to be up to date, meaning he wouldn't have to worry about getting too turned around.

The only thing he had to really worry about was running into the family that lived in the laboratory.

Eric hadn't met the Greene family but he had heard from his neighbors that the Burns family and Greenes were friends. He knew that if he was discovered, the Rescue Bots would descend, arrest him and take his niece away.

So, he had to be careful.

Promptly after dark, Evangeline had eaten all her supper, even eating her broccoli (probably she could sense her uncle's uneasiness and didn't want to upset him even more), had been bathed, dressed and tucked into bed. Eric waited until his niece's breathing evened out and, once he was confident that she was fast asleep, he quietly dashed to his room and tossed on his Assassins gear.

Strangely, everything still fit. It was as though the past three years hadn't happened, and he was still in Jasper, moving between his Aunt's house and the Autobot's base. The all-too familiar weight of his Blade, which he had quickly oiled and cleaned that day, was comforting and almost brought Eric to tears.

But he shook his head as he turned and left the house through the back.

The previous day, during the first few hours of the morning, Eric had stashed the motorcycle he found in the basement to somewhere near the Griffin Rock Labs. He needed to approach the place low and work his way up until he got to where he needed to be.

He didn't know exactly what he was looking for, but he did have a feeling that he would know it when he saw it.

Eric snuck his way towards the laboratory, keeping to the shadows even though the forest was bare of any humans. He was quick and light on his feet, barely disturbing the underbrush as he ran. There was no greater rush than running at top speed, pushing his well-maintained body to its limit.

It was exhilarating, addicting. And Eric didn't realize until that moment when he leapt a small separation in the ground (probably caused by the slight earthquake earlier that week) just how much he missed feeling this rush.

However, it was only for this one time.

He slowed down a bit when he approached the cliff face that supported the Griffin Rock laboratory. Eric quickly scaled the cliff face, dashing into the shadows that were hidden by the strange shapes of the building.

Eric paused to take a deep breath, before he started to feel the walls. There was a suspicion that the head scientist would have put something in place (a hidden door, a secret entrance) in case he ever accidentally locked himself out of the building.

From what he heard about Doctor Ezra Greene; the man was eccentric enough to do something like that.

After fumbling around for much too long, Eric found a holographic door, just big enough for him to slip through. The image of the wall rippled as he pushed his hand, and ultimately himself through, coming out in a warehouse. Miscellaneous items littered the shelves, most of them strange devices that Eric had no idea what they did.

But that wasn't his mission.

He had to stay focused.

The lower levels of the lab were mostly abandoned with only the occasional robot zooming past the only sign of inhabitants. Eric kept his eyes peeled for security cameras or motion sensors, doing his very best to keep to the shadows the best he could. The hallways were too well lit for him to slink around unseen, so he took to the airducts.

Right at the best time too, as almost as soon as he closed the grate behind him, a young girl with two large Dobermans rounded the corner. Despite his instincts screaming at him to move, Eric remained still and watched the girl.

Watched as the Dobermans picked up his scent, their ears perking up and their tails starting to wag back and forth as they started to sniff the ground.

"Whatcha got Edison?" the girl, presumably Francine Greene, asked the dog. A moment later, the other one caught his scent as well, and followed the other dog's example. "Aristotle?"

Eric decided that he'd better move on before the girl glanced up. However, moving through the tight space of the airducts was an easier-said-than-done task that took all of his ability to remain quiet as he moved. He let a couple words slip the times he hit his shin or had to back track. It took him far longer than he wanted, but eventually he managed to find the exact room he was looking for.

And it was currently occupied.

He held his breath as he moved over another airduct, watching the interaction between what he believed to be Doctor Ezra Greene, chief scientist of Griffin Rock, and Chief Charlie Burns, as well as he family. It was hard to see anything from his vantage point, but he could hear the voices talking. He had heard the other children speak before, but he couldn't recall hearing the other voices.

Until the speakers stepped into view.

They were the Rescue Bots, all of them as sentient as Eric believed. They were talking with the Greenes and Burnses with such ease that it made Eric wondered how long these Cybertronians had been on earth.

"-plainable." The engineer had just finished saying, waving a sheet of paper wildly. "There's just _nothing _that could explain why these things are happening."

"It seems like their getting worse." A woman, Dani if Eric remembered correctly. He couldn't see her, but he clearly heard the distress and worry in her voice.

"How are we going to stop something that we don't even know what the cause of it is?!"

"Heatwave, have you contacted Optimus?"

Eric knew for a fact that person was Chief Burns. He had heard the man's voice enough times by this point to know what it sounded like.

"No word from him, at this moment at least. Though I doubt this is being caused by a Cybertronian artefact."

"Well, if it's not Cybertronian what could be causing this?"

Eric tensed when he heard the vent below him groan. He quickly dashed back as he assumed everyone turned their attention upward. His heart was going a thousand miles an hour as he started to scoot his way through the airducts, back towards the way he came in. It took a while, the airducts weren't exactly muscular-man-friendly, but he dropped down into the room he had started right as the door on the other side burst open. He froze, only for a moment, before turning around and dashing into the shadows.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Chief Burns cried.

Eric had no intention of doing so.

A moment of panic filled him when he couldn't find the exit, but thankfully, right as the humans of the Rescue Team rounded the corner, he found it. He dove downward, out through the door and into the night.

He rolled forward, sliding to his feet and into a run.

The others could be heard right behind him as he slid down the slope, barely able to keep himself up right as he did so. He managed to do a miniature jump near the bottom, stumbling a little bit before righting himself and running off. Eric heard the sirens behind him, saw the search lights sweep over the darkened woods.

He darted underneath an upturned root right as the search light swept over him. The darkness held him as the Rescue Team passed him. Eric pulled up a mental map, figuring that he was about six minutes from where he put the motorcycle.

There was no way he could get to it with the Rescue Bots on their feet. But he couldn't exactly get back to Crestwood, again for the same reason.

He was stuck.

Crap.

"Heatwave? Do you see anything?"

Eric's breath caught in his throat when he heard the whispered question moments before two pairs of feet appeared; one being clad in dark boots and the other giant silver metal. His eyes were wide and he did everything in his power not to make a move and give away his position.

"No, I don't." A husky voice, which Eric connected it to the Autobot, whispered back.

They were right there, right in front of him.

If Eric dashed out, there was a huge chance the Autobot could easily lean down and pluck him up from the ground.

But Eric saw a very small opening that, if he timed it right, he would be able to make it past the Autobot and disappear into the woods.

He could run until he lost them (which considering the fact that the area in front of him was heavily wooded, it would relatively easy to lose them) before he doubled back and head home.

Before Eric could make up his mind, his body moved on automatic mode.

He didn't know if this plan would work, he just went with it.

Eric pushed himself forward, trying to keep the panic down as he ran right in front of the Autobot. He felt a breeze from the Cybertronian just barely missing him as he dashed into the underbrush and disappeared.

There was a moment of hilarity, as Eric tried to bunker down in a cluster of dried out bushes, he heard the startled shrieks from the firefighter.

"What was that? What was that?" the man was saying, quickly and without taking a breath.

"Where'd he go?"

Eric pressed himself further into the ground, his heart pounding as he started to scoot backwards, hoping to sneak away. He left the Rescue Team searching the immediate area for him as he stood and started to put some distance between the search. His legs felt weak and jelly-like and his heart was pounding in his chest. He fought against the adrenaline rush that threatened to send him crashing hard.

When he got it under control, Eric leaned against the tree, listening to the sounds of the night. He kept his ears opened in case the Rescue Bots were heading his way, but heard only the sounds of crickets and relaxed a little more. Eric removed his face cover, keeping his hood on as he leveled out his heartrate.

While the mission didn't go exactly the way he wanted it, Eric now knew that the Rescue Team was looking into the instances, though they weren't any closer to figuring out how to stop it than Eric.

Eric figured that if he could find an entrance to the underground observatory, he could find a way to stop the island from sinking into the ocean.

The chirping crickets quieted down as the sky turned a pale pink color as the night came to a conclusion. Eric was thankful that he didn't have to work that day, so after he dropped Evangeline off at daycare, he could sleep all day.

With a grunt, Eric stood before making his way back towards the town.


	14. Chapter 13

**AN: The days have blended together. There is no Monday, Tuesday, etc. There is only today, tomorrow, yesterday and the day before. Hope you all are doing well and staying inside!**

Interlude 2: Unknown 

A woman stood at the window of her apartment, her eyes on the horizon.

The sun was starting to rise over the island of Griffin Rock, bringing with it a promise of a new day.

Another day, filled with incidents and worry that the entire island will collapse into the sea.

The woman knew that she had to find out the cause of these incidents. She knew, or suspected at the very least, what the cause was.

A piece of Isu technology, perhaps an Apple of Eden, or even an Observatory gone haywire.

When she left the Templar Order, she had hoped that coming to Griffin Rock would put some much needed distance between her and the ancient order. She had never agreed with the tenants of the order, but they offered her a home and a family.

Something that called to her like a banquet hall to a starving man.

It took almost two decades to have her eyes opened to the disgust and the horror that was common in the actions of the Templars.

She refused to have this tiny island subjected to the cruelty and manipulation. There were too many good people here that didn't deserve to have their home destroyed, either by the Templars or by nature itself.

The woman smiled to herself as she thought of the recent arrivals to the island. Evangeline was the most adorable thing she had ever seen or met; an innocent bright light that needed to be protected at all costs.

And her uncle….

Oh man, the woman wasn't quite the one to throw herself at any man with any hint of muscles, finding beauty in the mind and intellect, but Eric Everton was the exception. That man was built like a mountain.

But that was far from the first reason why she found herself having the eye for the man. No, it was his big heart, for those around him and for his niece. There was a dark cloud over him, though she could see it clearly. Any one who wasn't an idiot could see that. It was like a specter or something sinister, just waiting to corrupt his soul. Eric clearly was haunted by something in his past, she could see it in his eyes. It was there, but Eric was strong and didn't let whatever happened in the past upset the present.

Her tired eyes went up to where the sun was, feeling as though there was something rising with it.

A feeling of doom, maybe a premonition of something awful to come.

Either way, she knew that she had a time limit. No way this would blow over soon.

Something deep down in her gut told her that it would all get worse and worse, until there was nothing left to save.

The woman turned away from the window. It took a little bit, but after scouring her apartment for any document that might be related in regards to the problem.

She had the day off, anyway.

After a couple of hours of digging, she placed the mountain of folders on her table before cracking her knuckles and diving headfirst


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: UGHH THIS IS SO ANGSTY! I SWEAR I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE IT LIKE THIS~**

Chapter 13

Eric sighed as he rolled over in bed, feeling the comfort of the sheets.

Outside, the day stretched on, life ongoing and never stopping. But despite the sunlight that fought to get through the drawn curtains, Eric's sleep was pierced with darkness.

His dreams were plagued by nightmares of his sister's death, his niece on the other side of a crevice that was slowly growing more and more expansive. Eric dreamed of the island slowly dissolving into the sea, leaving the people screaming and dying.

About midday, Eric found himself unwilling to close his eyes again, sitting on the edge of his bed, listening to the house settling.

He cupped his head in his hands as he thought back to the previous hours. There wasn't anything he could've done better, and while he could've waited a little longer, planned everything out, Eric knew that there was a clock that was slowly ticking down.

He couldn't afford to wait any longer.

Any longer, and he would have to rush around, trying to save those who would have lost everything.

And he couldn't deal with that. Eric needed to do what he could to stop the destruction that would come.

"Unule?" The timid voice of his niece at the door had him dashing the tears that fell. "Unule, are you okay?"

He sniffled a bit. "Yeah, I'm fine." He patted the spot beside him. "Come sit with me."

His niece gleefully joined him on the bed, with Eric having pick the young girl up and sit her down. Evangeline glanced up, the smile on her face dying down as it was replaced by a curious frown.

"Why are you crying, Unule? Did you have a bad dream?"

Eric was very envious of his niece's innocence. His smile was tight and sad as he nodded. "You could say that."

He gently moved to embrace the small child, maneuvering so that they were laying on the pillows. Evangeline didn't say anything, just touching his face, like what she would do just a few short years ago when she was still considered a baby. Touching his face like a blind man, memorizing all the lines and creases.

"Unule?" Evangeline whispered.

"Yes, Evangeline?"

"Why won't you tell me what happened to mommy?"

"You're not quite old enough, Evangeline." Eric answered softly, honestly. His grip around her shoulder tightened a little, unconsciously. "Maybe when you're older."

"Did she ever love me?"

"Oh of course she did!" Eric sat up, gently placing his hand on her shoulders. He made sure she was looking at him in the eye. "Evangeline, your mom loved you with every fiber of her being."

"Then why isn't she around?"

His heart was very close to breaking at this point. He knew that his niece would one day get curious as to why the other kids had a mommy to run to when she fell and scraped her knee, or when she got scared by a bad dream or thunder, and she didn't.

He just didn't expect the questions to come so soon.

To placate his niece, Eric placed a kiss on top of her head. "I'll tell you when you're older."

The two remained in bed for the majority of the day. Eric dozed off more than once, and Evangeline took a full-on nap. During those wakeful moments, Eric contemplated the future. As he always did in moments of silence, he wondered if he should wait until Evangeline was a little older before starting her training, or if he should train her at all. Once again, his arm tightened around his niece just so, as though to protect her from the monsters that haunted her uncle.

Eric nodded off once again, and when he woke up the sky was just darkening as the sun started to set. Dread settled in his stomach as he realized what that meant.

Another run of the plan, this one of the improvising type.

His eyes fell to his niece.

He would need someone to watch her while he did his two-day thing.

But there was no one he trusted to watch his niece. He hadn't gotten close enough to anyone to warrant trust.

Maybe he could leave her with the Burns family, say that he was feeling a bit under the weather and didn't want Evangeline to get sick? He still had Chief Burns' number from the time he saved Evangeline….

No that wouldn't work. He remembered hearing that they were going to investigate this further. If anything, having to watch his niece for two nights would certainly slow them down at best and hinder them at worse. Besides, his niece was pretty intuitive and Eric was pretty sure that she would've recognized him in a heartbeat.

Then it hit him.

Jennifer.

She had said that she had the next few days off. He had her number and she wouldn't hesitate to jump at the chance to hang out with Evangeline.

Carefully, Eric maneuvered himself out of the bed, reaching for his cellphone that lay charging on the bedside table. It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the brightness of the screen, and for his fingers to wake up enough for him to start pressing buttons, but eventually he managed to scroll through his very meager contact list and found Jennifer's name.

He pressed call, held the receiver up to his ear and waited.

_Riiiiiiing…..Riiiiiiiing…..Riiiiiiiing. _

_"Hello?" _

"Jennifer? Is everything okay? You sound a bit….ekgh." Eric remembered to make his own voice sound egkh, but couldn't help and wonder if Jennifer really was coming down with something.

_"Oh no, just doing some research is all. Fell asleep." _There was a pause on the other end, followed by some rustling of papers. "_Shit it's night. Please tell me it's still Saturday."_

"Yeah, just about….."

Another moment of silence followed by the question, _"Are you alright? You don't sound good at all."_

_Bingo. She took the bait. _"Yeah, no I think I'm coming down with something. I was calling to ask if you could watch Evangeline for a few days? Just until I'm feeling better. I don't want her to catch whatever I have."

Third pause, until he heard Jennifer whisper, _"You want me to watch after her? Your precious Evangeline? YES ABSOLUTELY!'_

Eric had to hold the phone away from his face at the shout. A quick glance at his still asleep niece had him sighing in relief.

"So, I take it you'll pick her up tomorrow?"

"_First thing in the morning. OMG, we'll go to the shopping district, get our nails done, our hair, get new clothes! It'll be a girls' day out!"_

Eric smiled, his eyes landing on his niece once more. "I think she'll like that."

_"Okay, well drink some tea and get some rest. I'll text you when I'm on my way."_

"Thanks, Jen. You're a lifesaver."

_"Eh don't worry about it. Always happy to help." _Eric could just hear the smirk in her voice.

"Okay, well, I'll see you in the morning."

_"Night, lover boy." _

And with a click the other line when dead. Eric sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. His eyes glanced up to the sky that lay outside the window, the stars and the moon very visible in the clear night sky. Only the stars and moon knew of his deeds, keeping them from the light of day.

In the dark, they held the knowledge of what he was, what he had did. They weren't going to let it go, though. The deeds were noble in the dark, a hero doing his thing to keep the world safe.

In the light, the deeds that he did were horrible and ugly. He was a villain, a murderer.

Eric sighed. Shaking his head of the thoughts that plagued him.

He laid back down, curling around his niece protectively. Almost instantly, he fell asleep, knowing that this is the eve of what he knew would be the climax of this chapter in his story…..


	16. Chapter 15

**AN: Very slight language (two words). Just a heads up.**

Chapter 15 

Once again, Eric found himself on the grounds of the Griffin Rock Laboratory.

At the moment, he was hidden in the bushes, his eyes trained on the building in front of him. He knew he was pushing his luck, being out in broad daylight, lurking outside a building that had people inside that could arrest him.

_Never Compromise the Brotherhood. _

One of the major tenants of the Creed raced through his mind, but he pushed it down. He had lived by the Creed for many years and still did, but he couldn't be distracted. His mind needed to be clear, his thoughts on the present.

With a deep breath, Eric moved forward.

He stood out like a sore thumb, his dark robes clashing with the brightness of the plants around him. Eric went through the garage, peeking in and sighing when he saw that it was empty.

_They must be somewhere else, _Eric thought as he moved forward. His steps were quiet, but his heart was far too loud in his ear.

Eric hoped that no one heard it.

He could, on the other hand, heard something else. Voices.

"Any new developments Graham?" The voice who Eric could immediately tell was Chief Burns'.

"Only that I pinpointed the source of the earthquakes. Sort of, anyway."

There was a scoff. "'Sort of'?! That's the best you got?"

"Kade, you must understand that whatever is causing the geological incidents is not what one would call 'of this world'." There was the sound of beeping. "While the readings do match some earthly patterns, there is still some discrepancies."

A pause of silence.

"Come again?"

"The readings are like any other earthquake, but it's only a bit." A small female voice spoke up. "Right daddy?"

"That's right, my little supernova."

"There's no telling what's causing this."

Eric sighed silently as he moved forward a bit to hear better. He stopped right before he turned the corner, his breath catching in his throat. Though it wasn't from shock. A growl escaped him as he watched the Rescue Bots and the supposed Greene family linger around a holographic map of the island. His focus was immediately on the map as soon as he spotted what was on it.

A little dot, blinking in a steady beat like a heart. It was in the middle of the island far below, almost impossibly so, for whatever was causing all of these incidents around the island. Eric's eyes narrowed. That was where he would go next.

He tensed when he heard pounding footsteps.

Right. Behind. Him.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood razor straight at the sound of a predatorial growl. Slowly, Eric turned, his breath catching in his throat again. But this time, it was from complete and utter fear. A giant t-rex, obviously a robot if the red eyes and the half-melted outer plates exposing the wires were any indication, stood over him, growling threateningly.

"Oh….shit." Eric whispered.

The T-Rex arched its back, its head in the air, and opened its mouth. "INTURDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

Eric tensed, slamming his hands over his ears.

"Freeze trespasser!" Shouted the police bot. Eric whirled around, panic rising a bit when he saw the Autobots starting to move forward, advancing on him in a semi-circle.

"_SHIT." _He hissed. Thinking quick, Eric dashed between the legs of the looming robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex. It continued to sound the alarm as the Rescue Bots descended on him.

He could all but feel the anger rolling off them as he managed escape into the outside. His motorcycle stood just a couple of feet from him. Eric poured every ounce of energy into his legs, widening his stride as far as he could. Thankfully, while the Rescue Bots missed him just by a hair, Eric reached his bike.

In one fluid movement, Eric straddled the motorcycle and took off. Through the roaring of the wind, he heard the Rescue Bots roaring after him.

At that time, Eric knew that he had cashed out on all of his luck.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 

Eric always knew when he got himself into deep far before he got himself too deep into trouble. It was known as something as a 'superpower' among the younger Assassins, though he knew that it was just a combination of common sense and intuition.

This, unfortunately, was not one of those times as apparent by the fact that there was a team of alien robots chasing him.

He sped down the street at top speed, the sounds of sirens behind him. The Rescue Bots were hot on his tail, chasing him relentlessly.

But who could blame them? He had broken into the Griffin Rocks lab twice, had seen things that he probably hadn't supposed to (if he was a native of the island), and, from the perspective of the Rescue Team, someone that possibly means their home harm.

Unfortunately, he wasn't stealthy as he thought and when he fled, didn't get as far as he thought he would before they chased after him.

A tree fell right in his path, forcing him to swerve in order to avoid. Thankfully, he managed to swerve onto a path that those pursuing him couldn't take. But when he stopped, he noticed something was off. The ground was shaking violently, forcing everyone around him to run for cover as trees, limbs and powerlines fell to the ground. Cars let loose their alarms as some trees fell on top it them, crushing them and breaking the windshield and windows.

Not only that but cracks appeared in the unsteady ground beneath him. The ground became soggy, his boots sinking a little.

It added to the destruction around him.

_**"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" **_

The scream had everything falling away. His attention zeroed in on the little girl on the swings and the strawberry blonde woman that was dashing for her.

Eric's heart stopped in his chest at the sight, but he was confused.

What were the two of them doing there? They were supposed to be at the spa, enjoying a girl's day or something. They weren't supposed to be at the park!

Well, whatever they were doing there, Eric needed to get them out of the park and somewhere safe.

They were his first priority.

Eric growled as he, abandoning his bike, dashed towards the swings. The man shot forward, everything else falling away. He had tunnel vision, only focusing on his niece, until the ground beneath his feet gave way. Instincts took over, and as he fell, his hands shot out. He managed to grab a ledge after the shock of falling faded but was unable to pull himself upward.

"GAH!" Eric exclaimed. The ground around him was far too soggy for him to get a foothold and it felt like he was moments away from falling into the dark depths of the sinkhole. He didn't like the fact that the soil beneath his finger was becoming far too soft for him to keep a firm grip.

It didn't help that his niece's crying for help reached him and he couldn't do anything.

"Evangeline!" He cried as he tried to lift himself. Eric had to stop, as his fingers sunk a little further. He growled as he stopped, fear snapping through him. He quickly slammed down on that fear and pushed it down. "No, this is _not _how I'm going to die."

"Give me your hand!"

Eric glanced up, both thankful and a little worried at the sight of the redheaded fireman that was trying to track him. Behind Kade Burns, Eric could faintly see the fire-bot. Figuring that he could do a little explaining later, Eric tried to reach up. He was never able to reach upward fully, though.

Unseen by the three of them, the cracks had spread further, stopping right underneath the fire-bot. Suddenly, the ground gave another violent shake, breaking the ground open.

Eric's hold fell away as the ground became nothing but putty. He, and the two that were standing above him, fell into the darkness of the deep pit, their shouts of fear and surprise echoing into silence.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 

When everything came back into focus, the first thing he realized was everything _hurt. _

But at least he could still feel and move everything, and nothing felt broken, which he was thankful for.

Eric felt like he had kept his eyes closed long enough and forced them open, staring up at the darkness in confusion.

Why did his bedroom smell like earth and dirt?

Why did his bed feel so hard and bumpy?

Why was there the distant sound of rocks settling above him?

Then, it all came crashing down on him.

Well, his thoughts, not the rocks.

Slowly, as not to further hurt his already aching body, Eric sat up. It took a moment for his head to stop spinning and his stomach to settle a bit before Eric attempted to stand.

"Ugh…...ouch."

Every bone in his body ached. But it wasn't too severe.

Eric struggled to his feet, swaying a bit as a dizzy spell washed over him. He must've hit his head a little bit. He then remembered that two others were down with him. Two members of the Rescue Team, the firefighter if he remembered correctly. Eric glanced around the almost suffocating darkness that seemed to press down on him but couldn't see anything.

"Anyone here?" He called out into the darkness.

"Yeah…." The groaned response was hard to pinpoint in the echoey darkness, but the shuffling of metal feet on stone helped him zero in on a location, a couple steps to his left.

"Don't move," Eric ordered as he fumbled his way towards the firefighter, "I'll come to you."

"What happened?" a deep voice, the voice of the Cybertronian, asked.

"The ground just dropped out from underneath us." The human firefighter said.

"It…. must've been the over-saturation of the soil, and we must've been standing over an entryway." Eric wheezed out. He stopped, the darkness pulling at his center of gravity. For a moment, he understood why Maya was so uncomfortable in enclosed spaces.

The rocks overhead could collapse any moment, crushing them. It made him…. dizzy, lightheaded.

"What caused it?"

"I'm sure if we had the brainiacs here, then we would know."

"I think I know." The implication of what he read in his ancestor's journals made him chilled to the bone, but the fact that those implications being true, what was causing them being real, gave him goosebumps.

"What are you talking about?"

"I think…. I think I know what's going on. But I need some light."

A moment later, Eric was blinded by the sudden orange light that filled the cavern. When he cleared the spots out of his eyes, he glanced down, noticing that he was a step or two from the Burns firefighter. He jerked up, his brown eyes going wide as he scrambled away from the masked man they were chasing not five minutes ago.

Or, you know, however much time had passed.

Eric stepped back as the Cybertronian stood to his full height. His eyes lingered on the insignia on his chest, trying to keep the flashbacks from popping up. He was only able to get pulled out of his thoughts when the firefighter groaned.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Eric assured him. His eyes went to the walls, searching the strangely smooth stone for anything that looked like a glyph or a mark. If Cordelia's directions were true, then they were right where they needed to be to figure this out.

_Lucky for me, _Eric thought sarcastically. He turned to the firefighter, his eyes turning up to the fire bot. He noticed his shades were down, and his body was stiff. Eric rolled his eyes, scoffing.

"Tell your friend there he doesn't have to pretend around me. I know what you are already."

There was a _shlick _as the visor retracted and surprised entered those yellow-orange optics. "You…you know?"

"Yeah. Cybertronian. From Cybertron. I, uh... let's just say I knew Optimus Prime a while back so…. yeah."

He missed the shocked expressions, but he could feel them on the back of his neck.

"You…. You know Optimus?"

"'_Knew_' him, past tense, would be a better way to phrase it." Eric said. He turned his face so they didn't see him wince. The man didn't mean to sound so snippy but the sight of that Autobot symbol dredged up memories of three years ago.

The argument between him and his sister…..

Her storming out…..

Her capture and death….

"I take it you two didn't separate on good terms."

"Not really." Eric touched the side of the wall. The sounds of rocks sliding drew his attention upward. With the light, he could see the full blockage and he knew that they wouldn't get out that way. "We're going to have to find another way out."

The firefighter scoffed. "No kidding. Heatwave, do you think you can punch a hole in the wall?"

"That won't do any good either," Eric interjected. "These walls are old, ancient beyond belief. It's a part of a building that holds the upper part of the island up. This is basically a support column. If we disturb the integrity of it, the roof's going to collapse on us, along with the entirety of the island."

"What are you talking about?"

Eric touched the wall, noticing something faint chipped into the wall. Something akin to hope bubbled inside his chest. "Optimus told you who I was right?"

Red-head cocked his helm, but it was the Cybertronian, Heatwave, who spoke, "You're Brother. You're apart of the, uh, the Assassins."

"I _was_ a part of the Assassins, three years ago." Eric dusted off some of the wall, getting a clear view of the symbol. It was an Isu symbol, the one they used to mark a laboratory or an Observatory. "But something happened, and I left."

Eric grunted as he pushed the wall. It gave a little but not in the way that would worry him. It slid, almost like a secret door.

"Just a little more…..." He wheezed.

His foot slipped when Heatwave pushed the wall, giving it a push with his hand. It slid open, revealing a tunnel with stairs. Going down.

"We're not seriously going down there are we?" the human asked.

"Well, we're certainly not going up," Eric said, pointing upward towards the ceiling that was obviously blocked. "So, we're going to have to go down to go up. Are your coms working?"

"Don't know." The firefighter touched the com on the lapel of his jacket, "Dad? Dani? Graham? It's Kade, do you copy?"

All they got was static.

"What about yours, Heatwave?"

He shook his head. "Already tried. It's the same."

Eric pursed his lips. He glanced back down at the tunnel, a dry breeze blowing through. He didn't know if he imagined it or not, but he thought he heard his name being whispered as the breeze blew by.

The same voice that he heard in his basement.

"I've been in situations like this before." He told the two first responders. "You can stay up here and wait, or you can follow me. Either way, it's up to you. But…...there's something I need to do."

He took a step down into the tunnel, the dry air rushing into his nostrils. The walls were much smoother down here, decorated with imagery that looked all too familiar to Eric.

"Wait for us!" Kade shouted. He turned and saw the two patter down the stairs after him. Eric gave a small chuckle.

"Afraid of the dark?"

"Please." Kade scoffed, giving Eric an air of bravado that he himself was guilty of doing in his younger years. "It's just, you know, I have to stay with the, uh, victim."

Eric's eyes flashed coldly. "I am not, nor I will ever be, a victim."

The three walked in relative silence for the first thirty minutes. Every so often, Eric would examine the walls to make sure that they were heading in the right direction.

"These markings…" Eric heard Kade whisper. It bounced off the walls, echoing down into the darkness. It honestly chilled Eric to the bone. "They look…..old."

"Almost like Cybertronian." Heatwave added.

Eric grunted. "They're actually Isu, an ancient civilization that predates humanity. Probably even the Cybertronians. The Assassins and the Templars have always fought over the artefacts left behind by the civilization, going back to 431 BCE, back to even before the orders took their modern names. There's not much known about the Isu, where they came from, who they really were, ectara, but what we do know is that they were powerful. Scientifically advanced, even more so than the Cybertronians."

"What happened to them?" Kade asked.

"Before written history, there was a massive solar flare that disturbed the ozone." Eric gently stepped down from the last step, waiting for Heatwave and Kade to catch up. He made eye contact with the human as he said, "The cities were destroyed and the majority of the Isu were killed in the first few minutes. Only a few survived and those that did became deified by almost every ancient civilization in the world."

"Whoa…." Kade muttered.

Eric turned and continued his trek downward.

"How'd you get involved with the Big Guy?"

"You're just full of questions, aren't you?" Eric asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He had no desire to get into his past, and had an even less desire to tell these strangers.

Unfortunately, he was stuck with them until they could find a way out.

He sighed, feeling as though he snapped unintentionally. "I'm sorry. My sister and I were on a mission three years ago in Nevada. We encountered the Autobots there by accident, forming something like a mutual alliance. We scratch their back, they scratched theirs."

"You guys fought the Decepticons?" Heatwave asked.

"Only once and it wasn't really a fight. Though that encounter was more than enough." Eric shuddered as the memory of that spider robot surfaced. "Anyway. There was a mission that went bad and…...my sister didn't make it."

"Oh…." Kade muttered. "I'm sorry."

Eric bite his tongue, swallowing the reply 'like that will bring her back'. Instead, he managed to say, "Don't worry about it," with only the barest hint of emotion that he was struggling to keep in check. After a moment, Eric continued.

"My sister left behind a daughter, and since I couldn't get in contact with her husband…. I took it upon myself to raise her. I didn't want her to grow up wondering if her mom didn't love her, or, on the opposite side of the coin, I didn't want her growing up to become a weapon like me."

"So, you brought her to a place that could be literally falling apart?" Kade let out a dry chuckle. "Fat good that did."

"Well, once we figure this out, Griffin Rock'll go back to being it's old…..self…." Eric trailed off when they came to the bottom of the steps, finding a bare wall blocking their way.

"Dead end." Heatwave announced needlessly.

"No…..." Eric muttered as he placed his hand on the wall. It was plain but smooth. It was flanked on both sides by walls that were covered in glyphs and runes, making the plainness stand out far more than it should've. "The Isu always made sure to hide entrances in plain sight. If it doesn't look like there might be a way out, then it could very well be a-"

The sound of old gears kicking into place interrupted Eric's train of speech. His heart dropped to the bottom of his feet as he heard the sound of rushing water and put two-and-two together.

Kade and Heatwave it seemed, were a bit slow on the uptake.

"What's that?" Kade asked meekly.

Eric swallowed his panic but he feared it showed all too clearly in his eyes. "It's a trap."

Moments later, the three were greeted with a sight of a wall of water in rushing headlong towards them.


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N: For those who are interested, I'm writing a collection of drabbles for the Enemy of my Enemy trilogy (whoopsie). I'm taking requests, so if you wanna drop a prompt or suggestion in the comments!**

Interlude 3: Kade 

"Wahahahhahaha!" Kade screamed as the tidal wave hit them.

The water was freezing cold and pinned him and the masked man up against the wall. It knocked the wind out of him, before he was plunged underneath the water. Kade fought to keep the water out of his lungs before Heatwave's cold metal hand dipped under and brought him back to the surface, hacking the salt water out of his lungs.

"Where's the other guy?" Kade asked between coughs. Heatwave, after placing him on his shoulder, glanced around, his eyes going down to the roaring water. A moment later, the man's head breached the surface, his hood still on but his face mask wasn't. Kade's eyes went wide at the sight of the heavily bearded face. The man bobbed in the water for a moment before he took a big gulp of air and going back down into the water. "Hey!"

Heatwave grunted as he started to punch the walls. While he could breathe underwater, Kade and the other human couldn't. The water also seemed to have a strange affect on him. It slowed his systems, making him sluggish. He could feel the Energon in his veins slowly turn to slush.

If he shut down, he feared what would happen to the humans in his charge.

"Heatwave?" Kade's voice was worried as he struggled to keep himself balanced on Heatwave's shoulder.

"We need to get out of here!"

"Really?! I hadn't noticed!" Kade yelped when the water, which seemed to be getting colder and colder, soaked through his clothes. "Where'd Brother go?!"

Heatwave switched his lights back on, but they didn't do much good. The water was too dark for the lights to pierce through. Thankfully, though, Brother's head breached the surface again. This time, he didn't go back under, instead he paddled on over towards Heatwave's outstretched hand.

"There's…a weak spot…" He huffed, his breathe billowing out in the air. He shivered as the air continued to drop. "Underneath the water…...at the corner. If we punch it, we can get out before the trap finally springs."

Kade glanced over at Heatwave, the firebot giving him the same look. To get to the weak spot, as Brother had said, he needed to go under the freezing water. Kade knew from experience that Cybertronians weren't invincible, and extreme temperatures could hurt them irrevocably.

"Is there any other way?" Kade asked.

"Not unless you want to freeze to death." Brother shivered.

There was silence before Heatwave scooped the two of them into the compartment, before diving down into the water. Kade felt the chill even from inside the insulated cabin, and he shivered violently. The water was dark and Kade could even see chunks of ice already forming.

"H…. Heatwave, hurry up!" Brother shivered. His teeth chattered so loud that Kade was worried. Since there wasn't much he could do inside the cab, Kade reached behind him to the back seat for a couple thermal blankets, draping one over Brother and one over himself.

"I…. I see the…. the corner…." Heatwave said. Kade winced at the struggle in his pal's voice.

"Hit the edges, Heatwave. Hit it with all you can." Brother ordered.

It took the Cybertronian five powerful hits to get the ancient stone to crack. One last punch sent the door crumbling. When the door fell, they, along with the water, were sucked out of the room and into a drier one. It wasn't necessarily warm, but at least they weren't submerged in water that was slowly becoming colder and colder.

Heatwave opened up his compartment, allowing the Kade and Brother to fall out, the thermal blankets still wrapped tight around them.

"W-what was that?" Kade asked.

It took a moment for Brother to get his shivers under control enough to speak. "A trap. A trap set for intruders." Brother took a moment to breath. "Strange how after all these years it still works."

"What are you talking about?" Heatwave demanded. He kept getting warnings about near frozen veins with gelatinous Energon. He needed a couple hours in the stasis pod to correct the errors and get his systems back on track.

But that wouldn't happen for a while.

"The Isu had enemies, though who they were, we're not sure. But Isu Scientists didn't want anyone to interfere with their work. So, they set traps. Some to hold, some to kill." He glanced behind himself at the fallen door, the water still trickling in. "That was one meant to kill. Specifically, freezing the victims to death."

Kade shivered far too much for it to be healthy.

"Right. We need to make a fire." Brother announced as he stood. Kade looked at him.

"W-what a-bout the m-mission?"

"That can wait." The hooded man scoured the place for items he could use. Strangely, this place had shelves stacked with what looked like papyrus. He opened one of them, briefly scanning it before crumbling it up and tossing it to the center of the room.

"W-what's th-at?"

"Nothing important."

He continued to crumble up and toss pieces of papyrus into a pile. Much to Heatwave's and Kade's shock, the man pulled out a match box, striking one easily and tossing it into the pile. It didn't take long for the pile to ignite. Kade almost crumpled at the feeling of warmth that exploded from the fire. It wrapped around him as if in an embrace, and he felt no shame sobbing a little bit.

He might've heard one escape from Heatwave.

Brother sighed as he sat down, following Kade and Heatwave.

"How long are we going to be here?"

"Until we're warm and dry enough." Brother blew into his cupped hands. "It's going to get pretty crazy from here on out, so we're going to need our strength. Heatwave, you doing alright?"

"J-just g-give m-m-me a moment."

"Big guy?"

"F-f-f-fine."

"His systems are probably freezing over." Brother assured. "Just give him a little bit."

There was a silent pause, one which Kade took advantage on as he removed his gloves, boots and socks. His fingers and toes were frozen, so he started to move them around to get some feeling back. He glanced over at Heatwave, whose dimmed optics had him worried but as they sat there for a couple more minutes, they started to brighten up. Kade also chanced a glance over at Brother, and was honestly shocked to see that he hadn't removed one single article of clothing. Instead, he was just staring at a wedding band that was attached to a chain around his neck.

"Hey man. Aren't you cold?"

"I'm fine." Came the short reply.

There was another beat of silence before, Heatwave, who had noticed the ring glinting in the firelight, spoke. "Is that yours?"

Brother gave a dry chuckle. "Nah. It was Sister's before she died."

There were emotions that danced behind the man's startingly familiar steel grey eyes; emotions that told Kade the man sitting next to him had seen far more in his life than Kade ever will. They were made deeper by the flames as they danced shadows across the walls of the room. The water had stopped flowing at this point. Questions fluttered through Kade's mind, but he knew (despite what his siblings would say) when to hold his tongue.

But…

"What was she like?"

A soft smile, almost sad, appeared on Brother's face as he twirled the ring gently between his fingers. "She was, heh, she was a badass. She could go toe to toe with those even more skilled than she. When we were first trying to get into contact with the Autobots, Sister actually scaled a Decepticon foot-soldier while it was shooting at us and managed to take it down."

"Wow." Kade whistled. "Wish I could've met her."

"I hope my niece remembers her."

Kade sighed, feeling as though the subject was hitting a little too close to home. He had been nine when his mom died and he, he hated to say, barely remembered her. Every year, it got harder and harder to remember what his mom's voice sounded like, or how her perfume smelled.

Sure they had home videos but they were a far, far cry from _truly _remembering.

A breeze blew by, causing Kade to shiver.

_Help me…._

His head snapped up, as did Brother's. The redhead glanced over at the other human. "What was that?"

_Eric…. Everton…._

"I…" The response seemed to die in the man's throat as a vacuum affect had them digging their heels into the ground to keep from falling over. Heatwave managed to grasp the threshold from which the sucking was coming from, and from there, managed to catch Kade and Brother.

"What's going on?" Kade shouted over the rushing of air.

There was a moment of panic that shone in Brother's eyes, before it disappeared and was replaced by an expression that Graham got when he got an idea.

"Heatwave, let go!"

"What?!" Heatwave shouted.

"Are you insane?!" Kade exclaimed at the same time.

"Trust me!"

Kade glanced up at Heatwave, shaking his head at the Autobot to not do it. They didn't know what laid beyond the darkness.

"Trust me…..."

A moment passed and the three found themselves tumbling into darkness.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 18

Eric sat up in quickly, his heart thundering in his chest as though he had woken from a terrible dream.

Perhaps all of this was, him falling down a hole that was a part of the underground laboratory that kept the island of Griffin Rock afloat with two members of the Rescue Team, one being an alien from a distant planet.

Maybe, just maybe, he was in the guest room in Jasper, Nevada, resting as his aunt and cousin went about their daily business. His sister…..she wasn't dead. She was in the bed next to him, still sound asleep.

All of that was dashed when, somewhere high above him, lights flickered on. High above him, Eric saw the hole that they had fallen through. It looked to have some remnants of stairs, though not much was left. The fact that it was so high up had Eric wondering just how he survived the fall.

It was only when he glanced downward did he get his answer.

An unconsciousness Heatwave held him and Kade in his hand. Kade was out too, but both of the firefighters were breathing. At least, he was sure that Heatwave was out.

Slowly, as not to aggravate his new wounds, Eric stood. His eyes went around the high ceiling, dropping his vision into the Eagle Sight to see the carvings. They were bizarre but not unlike the ones that the Isu were known for.

They depicted scenes straight out of lore: the Isu coming down from the stars, building an empire with the forced labor of humans, controlled by Apples of Eden. The Isu creating buildings out of mountains and glass, meddling with genetics as though they were gods, not knowing the catastrophe that would destroy them in one fell swoop.

"Urgh…." Eric glanced down to see Kade's eyes fluttering open. "What happened?"

"We fell. Again." Eric leaned down, offering the firefighter a hand. Almost as soon as the two of them had stepped off Heatwave's hand, the Cybertronian's optics flickered on, letting loose a groan of his own. "The only problem is, I don't remember this being in Cordelia's diagrams."

"_That's because I didn't return to add it."_

The unknown voice had the three of them freezing, before Eric and Heatwave fell into defensive stances.

"Who's there?" Eric demanded, his voice carrying throughout the place.

Movement on the upper levels, held up by stone walkways that were honeycombed with what he suspected were spare rooms, caught his eye. It was quick, and barely perceptible, but he saw it. He caught the barest hint of blue fabric.

He deepened his Eagle Vision, trying to catch movement in the shadow of the rooms.

"Come on out!" Heatwave shouted, pounding his fists together. "Come out and fight!"

"Or you know, so we can talk. If that's cool with you." Kade meekly added from where he hid behind Heatwave's leg.

More movement happened, this time on the same level as they. Eric peered into the darkness, his body tensing as two silver eyes peered back at him.

He stepped back, but not in fear. No, never in fear.

Eric shifted on his feet, his wrists flicking so that his Blade slid out. All the muscles in his body tightened, coiling up as though as snake ready to pounce on an unawares bird.

That is, until the figure stepped out of the shadow.

Eric seemed to have a moment of complete and utter shock, one that nearly had him tumbling down into his own mind.

Everything fell away, except for him and the person that stood just several feet away from him.

The woman stood in front of him, clothed in a familiar Easter egg blue Assassins robe that flowed as though moved by a phantom wind, and all though her face was hidden, Eric knew the features that were hidden by the shadow of the cowl.

"Who's that?" Kade asked.

Eric managed to shake off most of the shock when the question finally clicked, though his eyes never left the translucent figure that stood motionless in front of them, just staring at them.

There was a moment of silence, tense and thick, as the four beings stared at each other.

_You finally came. _

The voice that echoed within his mind and throughout the room simultaneously snaked a course down Eric's spine in a slithering smoothness that he simultaneously clung to and repelled. It was a voice that Eric believed that he had heard at one point, but more likely in a dream and forgetting it the moment his eyes opened.

"You were expecting me?" His voice was dry in comparison, but it was strong despite the worry that ate away at his being.

There was the barest hint of a nod, and the woman tilted her head slightly. _I've left clues and instructions for you, hoping for someone smart enough to figure it out. Thankfully, it seems that the hope was not misplaced._

The specter of the woman floated forward. Eric heard Kade whimpering as the woman got closer and closer. When the woman was right there, when some of her face could be seen, Eric couldn't help but have his breath catch in his throat when the woman's pupilless silver eyes stared him down.

But he didn't back down.

_How much time has passed since I came here?_

"About two-hundred-and-sixteen years." Eric answered. His tongue still felt heavy in his mouth.

"I'm sorry!" Kade interrupted, waving his hand in the air and shaking his head. "I'm completely lost. Do you know each other?"

"Not really, but I know _of _her." Eric stated.

_How rude of me to not have introduced myself, _the woman muttered. Eric heard the thickness of her English accent, the lilt old and out of date. She placed a see-through hand on her chest, bowing a little at the waist as she spoke, _I am Cordelia Abigail Williams Everts, of the London Brotherhood of Assassins and ally of Connor Kenway, Mentor of the North American Assassins. Tis an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintances Misters…...?_

"Burns. Kade Burns." The firefighter said, drawing up a bit.

"Heatwave."

Cordelia tilted her head as she stared up at the giant robot. _I know of your kind. The Isu documented all of their encounters with other species of extraterrestrials. _She shrugged when Eric gave her a look. _Those were the first files that I was able to access after…._

She trailed off. Eric glanced around the temple, his eyes trailing the images.

That is when he managed to voice the question that bubbled up suddenly. "How'd you get here? You don't act like a ghost."

His ancestor gave a laugh, a little sound that echoed like little bells in a grand cathedral. _I am certainly not a specter, that much is true. No, but sometimes I feel it would've been better if I had perished completely. I had come here to investigate the strange instances of occurrences that was happening around the island. _

"So, this did happen before?" Heatwave asked.

_Yes. I had come to the island to find peace from the Assassin life. But instead I found that the island was once a cover for an Isu laboratory, whose main computer was slowly failing. If it failed completely, the entire island would fall into the ocean, leaving hundreds to perish. So, I did what I had to do._

Eric, Heatwave and Kade watched the woman's image flicker off before appearing on a pedestal that held an orb.

Though, there was something different about the image.

It was more solid, more corporeal. Also, she was taller, her shoulders hunched slightly

It then hit Eric that he was staring at a playback of the past.

His ancestor stared down at the orb, her shoulders hunched as though carrying the weight of the world. Her shaky hand hovered over the orb that stood on top of the pedestal. There was hesitance in her movement. The three of them watched as she casted her eyes upward to the ceiling, before she quickly removed the cowl. Silvery grey hair tumbled down, loose and flowy.

"I do this for the people, for the Assassins." She whispered, as though she was trying to keep herself from backing out.

And her movements showed it, as she quickly slammed her hand down on the orb and there was a blinding flash of light and scream.

The three of them had to slam their eyes down shut as the light filled the room, but when it died down and they hesitantly opened their, the image of Cordelia with her glowing silver eyes, looking sad, her eyebrows drawn together.

_When I regained my wits, I was tied to this place, _she gestured to the ceiling. _Never able to leave. But I was able to access and understand the files stored in the laboratory's archives. However, I was never able to leave this place and inform my family what I found. _

Eric took a moment to process Cordelia's story. Heatwave was the one to speak up, however.

"If you fixed it, then why is it happening again?"

_The laboratory is failing once more. And the only way to fix it-_

"-Is for someone else to upload their consciousness into the laboratory's mainframe." Eric interrupted. Dread settled into his stomach like cement.

Someone would have to give up their life to keep the island of Griffin Rock from falling into the ocean.

The cycle continues.

As Eric mulled over his choices, a rumbling sound caught their ear. At first, Eric thought that another tremor was happening, until a hole on the other side of the room appeared, punched by a giant green Cybertronian. His breath caught his throat as three Cybertonians, the Rescue Bots and the rest of the Burns family entered.

They all rushed in, shouting "KADE!" in happiness as they slammed in and embraced him. Eric watched with a more than slight jealous twinge as he watched the Rescue Family, Autobots included, embraced, checking each other for injuries and asking questions.

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"How did you find us?"

"What is this place?"

Cordelia floated wordlessly to stand beside him, watching the group silently but with a look of longing.

_That is something that I miss, _she whispered softly, _being able to touch and hold my children. _She paused before quietly asking, _Whatever happened to them, by the way? My children?_

Eric thought back to his family history. "They left Griffin Rock. Some of your grandkids fought in the Civil War. Married and had kids of their own, continued the lineage."

Her smile was soft, sad. _I miss them so much. _

Eric's heart strained at that. He didn't want to think about the fact that he would be leaving Evangeline alone, a true orphan, if he put his hand on the orb.

"Kade…. who's that?"

The man glanced up at the question. The rescuers were all looking at him, tense and on guard.

"Guys," Kade said slowly, as if trying to keep the others from freaking out, "This is Brother. The guy the Boss Bot talked about."

There was silence as the group of Rescuers watched him closely, eyeing him with caution and suspicion.

Another rumble moved through the room, but this time it wasn't caused by a Rescue Bot. Everyone braced themselves on something.

_Argh! _

Eric glanced over at Cordelia, her image flickering as she bent over as if injured. The room continued to shake; cracks appeared in the ceiling.

"AH!" the helicopter screamed in fear. "IT'S ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE!"

"Cordelia…." Eric knew that he couldn't reach over and help her, so all he could do was watch with worry. Her image flickered for another few moments before it solidified and the quake stopped. She stayed bent over, taking shuddering breaths before straightening. The other rescuers all gasped in shock at seeing the floating, see-through woman.

Especially the Rescue Bots, or the other three.

"Is…. that…...a ghost?!" The helicopter stuttered in fear.

"I do not believe that it is a specter." The police bot said in a monotone voice. They all glanced at each other.

"She's Cordelia Everts." The bulldozer whispered in shock after another beat of silence. He shrugged at the curious looks of the others. "I read up on the history of the island."

_I am Cordelia Everts, _Eric's ancestor confirmed, bowing a little bit at the waist. _We were just about to discuss fixing the problem that plagues my home. _

"So…. this place is….uck, what is it?" the woman, her short brown hair dusted a little bit with dust.

No one answered.

Cordelia turned towards Eric, her silver eyes glowing beneath the darkness of her cowl.

_Are you ready? _

"Ready? Ready for what?" Graham asked.

Eric didn't answer him, instead he just started to walk forward.

"DON'T DO IT!"

Everyone swiveled around at the new voice, and Eric couldn't help but gape at the new person that ran into the room.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Jennifer?!" Eric shouted before he could stop himself. She didn't seem all that shocked that a masked man that she had never met knew her name. "What…what are you doing here?"

_Where's Evangeline? _He wanted to ask, but he stopped himself before revealing himself more than he already did.

"Don't worry, I'm on your side Brother."

His heart stuttered. "You…. you know who I am?"

Jennifer stopped just in front of him, not really paying attention to the Rescue Bots. Her blue eyes pierced Eric to the metaphorical wall. "I was a Templar for years. I knew about you and your accomplice. 'Sister' was her name, right? I remember you two. I also know your real name."

His eyes went wide.

His heart stopped.

Jennifer chuckled softly, touching his nose in a cutesy way. She pushed past him, placing her arms behind her back as she walked forward. "Don't worry, though. I won't tell anyone. Besides, the only people who'll know are those who will find their way down here in about, oh, two hundred years or so. You'll be long gone by that point."

That seemed to restart his heart and jumpstart his brain. "_No._ I'm not allowing you to risk your life."

She whirled on him. "You have your niece to look after. She's with Mrs. Rubio by the way, so don't worry about her being alone."

The mention of his niece drew the air out of his lungs again. He closed his eyes in thought before turning his head.

How could he have forgotten her when considering his decision? Would he have remembered _after _he did it?

Of course, it would've been too late, as the process is obviously irreversible.

_Oh, how could he have been so selfish?! _

"I…" His voice didn't seem to want to work.

Thankfully Chief Burns spoke up for him. "I don't think I can allow you to do this, whatever you're going to do."

"Look, Chief Burns, with all do respect, I have no one else. No family, no one that would miss me." She looked down, tears glittering in her eyes. "I've killed so many people, innocent and unaware of the war that rages in the shadows. Besides yours anyway," she said directing the statement to the Autobots. "This is how I plan on making amends."

"Jen…." He moved forward. "Don't do this, there's got to be another way."

"There isn't." She declared. "Everyone here in this has a life, has a family that would miss them. Even you. I don't. They were all killed years ago. The Templars are no doubt still hunting me, to bring me to trial for betraying them. You're welcome by the way."

Everything suddenly clicked. Eric remembered when Maya received news about movement of a high-ranking Templar right before their mother was killed. It was so secret that even the deep-cover Assassins didn't even know about it yet. The only way she could've gotten that information….

Jennifer nodded at his shocked expression.

"You…..." His voice once again died in his throat.

"I gave Templar secrets to your sister, before fleeing the Order. I had hoped you two would've smart enough to dismantle the Templar Order in North America." She gave a short laugh, looking around at the Autobots. "Looks like you did that, and found more than you bargained for."

"Jenn-"

"Go. I'll be okay." She offered a big smile, but it was dulled at the tears that fell from her closed eyes.

"No."

Another tremor passed through the room, this one even more violent than before.

_Time is running out, _Cordelia stated. She turned towards Jennifer. _Do you truly want to take this burden upon yourself? _

Eric couldn't help the sadness and terror that stabbed him as Jennifer answered with a positive. He made to step forward, but Cordelia lifted her arm up. Eric felt as though he was sinking through quick sand. When he heard the shouts of the Rescuers, he glanced over and found it happening to them too.

"JENNIFER!" Eric shouted as he tried to move through the sludge. Tears fell from his eyes as he and the others were pushed backward, into a room that seemed to be akin to a broom closet.

Nothing that would give them a way out, other than the stone door that slammed shut.

"JENNIFERRRR NOOOOO!" Eric pounded on the door with all his strength.

It didn't budge.

"We've got to get this door open! NOW!"

That spurred the Rescue Bots forward. They started to pound on the walls, but it didn't move. The stone didn't even crack.

The rumbling continued and suddenly, sludge started to fill the room.

It looked disgusting, like thick mud. It crawled upward, filling the room quickly. In no time, it was up to Eric's ankles. The others were scrambling into their bots, but Eric couldn't bring himself to move. He had to get out of the room.

He had to stop Jennifer from making a mistake. He had…...

He had to tell her how he felt.

Eric felt that there was something inside him that he had been ignoring. There were feelings that he had pushed down, that he had ignored until suddenly it made sense. He wanted to get out of the closet, to hold Jennifer close and to tell how interesting she was, how funny she was….how he wanted to get to know her and live a life with her.

A sob escaped his lips. Broken…. empty…...

Just like he was.

He fought the giant metal hand that grabbed him gently around the waist as the sludge reached his chest, almost to his neck. There was silence as he was placed in Heatwave's compartment, then a scream.

A scream of pain, a scream of fear…...

The sludge almost completely filled the room. Eric feared that the Rescue Bots wouldn't be able to breath.

The scream continued…...

It pierced the room, pierced Eric deeply into his soul.

Then there was silence.

The sludge…

Stopped.

It had almost covered the Autobots. Thankfully it had stopped. There was a beep.

_Systems stabilizing, _an automated voice that sounded so like Jennifer's spoke. _Initiating system reboot. Standby. _

As the sludge started to dissipate, leaving only the stuff clinging to the Autobots. Eric scrambled out, landing in a crouch and launching himself out of the room as soon as the door slid open.

He stopped, his heart stopping as well.

There wasn't anything in the room besides a raised pedestal.

On the other end of the room, a figure stepped out of the shadows but it wasn't Jennifer. Cordelia Everts lowered her hood, revealing jet black hair that fell over her shoulder and down to her waist. The woman smiled, her steel grey eyes shining with a light that was often squashed in the Assassins. She took a deep breath, giving him a brief nod before fading away, Thanos-snap style.

"What just happened?" Kade's voice was distant.

"She's been freed." Eric answered a moment after silence. His voice was close to breaking, so he took a moment to clear his throat. "She's no longer tied to the laboratory like…"

Tears fell, despite him struggling to keep it together. He closed his eyes, falling to his knees. He clenched his teeth, but it didn't stop the scream that escaped his throat.

This scream was filled with pain as well. But a different type.

It was the pain of a broken heart made vocal.


	22. Chapter 21

Interlude 4: Cody Burns 

Two days had passed since the incident below the island's surface and the island was returning to relative normalcy. There hadn't been a single incident, well, of the geographic kind. There was still the malfunctioning tech that the island had to deal with, but nothing that seemed to indicate that the laboratory underneath the ground was on the fritz. Cody Burns still couldn't believe the story that was told to him by his family, even though Heatwave had brought back footage.

The video was still bizarre to say the least.

The Rescue Bots had encountered the infamous Brother.

Had worked with him to find the center of lab.

Something had happened, something that no one could explain, despite going through the video multiple times.

Brother had vanished, with a warning to lay low, lest they had any attention from 'those who wouldn't be so hesitant or nice as he'.

No one heard a thing from him since then.

All was quiet. Too quiet.

There was a knock on the garage door. Cody, who had been relaxing in the empty garage stood and leisurely made his way towards the door, thinking that Frankie had come by to do homework. When he opened the door, however, he was greeted with an empty driveway.

"Hello?" he called out, but there wasn't anyone out. His brow furrowed before something at his feet caught his eye.

When he glanced down, his eyebrow shot up in curiosity at the sight of the envelope. It had his family's name scrawled on the top. Cody was hesitant to pick it up, but curiosity won out. He walked back into the house, looking over the envelope as though it held more clues.

"Cody? Whatcha got there?" His dad entering the room had him glancing up.

"Someone left this out on the mat outside," Cody answered, holding up the envelope. "There's no return address or anything."

Cody handed the envelope to his dad, and watched him turn it over in his hand before opening it cautiously. He pulled out and unfolded a sheet of paper. Cody watched his eyes roam over the paper, each moment passing had his eyebrows getting closer and closer together.

"Dad?"

"Cody, do you know where the others are?"

"I think they're down in the basement?" Cody answered.

His dad nodded silently before walking towards the elevator. Curious as ever, Cody trotted after him.

When they reached the basement where everyone was relaxing and doing their own thing, Cody's dad got their attention.

"Everyone, listen up!"

Their heads whipped around, especially at the tone the greying man used.

"Dad?" Dani asked hesitantly.

"Chief? Is there a situation that requires our expertise?" Chase asked.

"We've got a letter."

There was silence as the older Burns siblings turned, giving each other a look before turning back to the chief.

"Okay…...what does that have to do with us?" Graham asked.

"It's from Brother."

That seemed to inject new energy into the room. Everyone stood up and crowded around the chief, the Rescue Bots being as careful as they could. There was a moment of shushing, a moment when Chief cleared his throat before he started to read the letter out loud.


	23. Chapter 22

**Epilogue: Letter from the man known as Brother to the Burns family of Griffin Rock **

**Dear Burns Family, **

** I thank you very much for your help in the stabilizing the island of Griffin Rock. If you are receiving this letter, I have left the island, and gone to make a new life for my family somewhere else. I had thought it would be better if the entrances to the Isu Laboratory be sealed, at least until they are needed once again. If I don't see the Rescue Bots again, I will probably see the Autobots, quite possibly Optimus Prime, in the near future. **

** Fate has a funny way of working, I suppose.**

** Please keep what had transpired underground a secret. The Templars won't hesitate to ransack the island and destroy anyone who knows about the laboratory if word ever got out. It is what has set the Assassins apart from the Templars for centuries. **

** I also ask this one last favor from you and yours: destroy Crestwood. Burn it and the foundation to the ground until there is nothing left. **

**The manor that has long since belonged my family needs to be destroyed. **

** The past has caused nothing but grief for everyone. I hope that with its destruction, the stains on Griffin Rock left by my ancestors will be washed away, cleansed by fire finally. At least with the memory of the Everton family destroyed, the island can once move on. It'll be the first place that can truly heal after being scarred by this war. **

** I hope you and yours have a peaceful life on Griffin Rock, free of grief and strife. If you ever need my assistance, well, I hope you never have need of my assistance. **

**Truly Yours,**

**Eric Philip Everton, aka Brother**

**April 4****th****, 2015**


End file.
